Perceived social support and self-compassion as serial mediators of relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress

Rukiye Kızıltepe and Servet Kaçar-Başaran

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2026, vol. 72, issue 2, 398-408

Abstract: Background: Previous studies have consistently found a robust relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress. Despite the increasing number of studies in recent years that have identified social support or self-compassion as potential mechanisms in this relationship, no study examines the mediating role of both social support and self-compassion in adults. Aim: This study aimed to investigate social support and self-compassion as potential mediators in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and psychological distress using a serial mediation model. Method: Using online surveys, a total of 310 participants ( M age  = 28.83, SD  = 6.07) were included in this study. The data was collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – Short Form. The proposed serial mediation model was conducted using PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: After controlling age and gender, the results showed that: (a) there was a direct effect of childhood maltreatment on psychological distress ( B  = 0.192, p  

Keywords: Childhood maltreatment; social support; self-compassion; psychological distress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:72:y:2026:i:2:p:398-408

DOI: 10.1177/00207640251362726

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