Effects of childhood maltreatment on prosocial behaviors among Chinese emerging adults: A mediated moderation model of psychological suzhi and gratitude

Prosocial behaviors are defined as behaviors that are beneficial to others. Although previous studies have suggested that there is a negative association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors among emerging adults, the conditions and underlying mechanisms of the association remain unclear. Guided by theoretical models and previous research, a mediated moderation model, with psychological suzhi in the moderating and gratitude in the mediating role, was proposed to investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors among emerging adults. A total of 2396 Chinese undergraduate students completed measures of childhood maltreatment, psychological suzhi, gratitude, and prosocial behaviors. Results of the correlation analyses showed significant negative associations between childhood maltreatment, prosocial behaviors, psychological suzhi, and gratitude. Moreover, there were significant positive associations between psychological suzhi, gratitude, and prosocial behaviors. The moderated analyses revealed that psychological suzhi moderates the association between childhood maltreatment and prosocial behaviors. The mediated moderation analyses showed that gratitude mediates the moderating effect of psychological suzhi. These findings suggest that while childhood maltreatment hinders the development of prosocial behaviors among Chinese undergraduate students, psychological suzhi buffers its negative effect through gratitude. The results are discussed and the practical implications of these findings are presented.