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Patterns of childhood maltreatment influence sleep quality: The role of emotion regulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

Sihan Liu Open the ORCID record for Sihan Liu [Opens in a new window] ,
Nigela Ahemaitijiang Open the ORCID record for Nigela Ahemaitijiang [Opens in a new window] ,
Jianjie Xu Open the ORCID record for Jianjie Xu [Opens in a new window] ,
Yang Liu ,
Lu Chen  and
Zhuo Rachel Han
Sihan Liu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Nigela Ahemaitijiang
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Jianjie Xu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Yang Liu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Lu Chen
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Zhuo Rachel Han*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
*
Corresponding author: Zhuo Rachel Han; Email: rachhan@bnu.edu.cn.
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Abstract

Childhood maltreatment exerts long-term consequences on sleep health, and different subtypes could constitute maltreatment patterns. However, how naturally occurring patterns of childhood maltreatment affect subsequent sleep quality and the underlying mechanisms remain relatively unclear, particularly in youths undergoing a transitional period and in the Chinese cultural context. In this study, we identified childhood maltreatment patterns and explored how these patterns predicted sleep problems through differential emotion regulation strategies. We tracked 1929 Chinese youths (M age = 18.49; 63.1% females) for one year. Three latent profiles were identified: low maltreatment exposure, high physical and emotional maltreatment, and high sexual abuse. Compared with “low maltreatment exposure,” youths in “high physical and emotional maltreatment” used fewer cognitive reappraisal strategies, and those in “high sexual abuse” used more expressive suppression, and then leading to more sleep problems. This study reveals new insights into the patterns of childhood maltreatment in Chinese youths and implies that individuals exposed to sexual abuse or a combination of physical and emotional maltreatment experience sleep problems through the impairment of differential emotion regulation processes. It also highlights the necessity of setting differential targets on emotion regulation strategies for distinct groups of maltreatment and considering the co-occurrence of physical and emotional maltreatment.

Keywords

Childhood maltreatmentsleep problemsemotion regulationcognitive reappraisalexpressive suppression
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , First View , pp. 1 - 11
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© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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