CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 8Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologyChild Abuse and TraumaResilience and Mental Health

Childhood maltreatment, spiritual wellbeing, and stress-related growth in emerging adults: A conditional approach to responsibility

Open access
Arslan, Gökmen·2025·Current Psychology
DOI 10.1007/s12144-025-07280-6
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Abstract The current cross-sectional study aims to examine whether spiritual wellbeing mediates between childhood psychological maltreatment and stress-related growth in emerging adults. We also aim to investigate the moderating role of responsibility on the mediating effect of spiritual wellbeing between childhood maltreatment and stress-related growth. The sample of the study consisted of 501 undergraduate emerging adults from different public universities in Türkiye, with 66.5% of whom were female and aged between 18 and 25 years. Results showed that childhood psychological maltreatment had significant associations with responsibility, spiritual wellbeing, and growth. Additionally, spiritual wellbeing acted as a mediator between childhood maltreatment and stress-related growth in emerging adults. Further, the results indicated that responsibility moderated the mediating effect of spiritual wellbeing on the link between psychological maltreatment and stress-related growth. The study results underscore the mediating role of the spiritual wellbeing in the association between childhood maltreatment and stress-related growth and the protective role of a sense of responsibility in this mediating model. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of spiritual wellbeing and responsibility in promoting positive outcomes in emerging adults, particularly in the face of adverse childhood experiences.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s12144-025-07280-6

Cites

5 of 5 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 50

  1. Allen, B. (2008). An analysis of the impact of diverse forms of child- hood psychological maltreatment on emotional adjustment in early adulthood. Child Maltreatment, 13(3), 307-312. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 1 7 7 / 1 0 7 7 5 5 9 5 0 8 3 1 8 3 · DOI
  2. Allen, K., Waters, L., Arslan, G., & Prentice, M. (2022). Strength-based parenting and stress-related growth in adolescents: Exploring the role of positive reappraisal, school belonging, and emotional processing during the pandemic. Journal of Adolescence, 94(2), 176-190. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 02/ja d.12016 · DOI
  3. Alorani, O. I., & Alradaydeh, M. F. (2018). Spiritual well-being, per- ceived social support, and life satisfaction among university stu- dents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 8 0 / 0 2 6 7 3 8 4 3 . 2 0 1 7 . 1 3 5 2 5 2 · DOI
  4. Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469-480. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 37/00 03-066X.55.5.469 · DOI · Paper page
  5. Egeland, B. (2009). Taking stock: Childhood emotional maltreatment and developmental psychopathology. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(1), 22-26. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 16/j. chiabu.2008.12.004 · DOI
  6. Ellison, C. W. (1983). Spiritual well-being: Conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 11(4), 330- 338. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 77/00 9164718301100406 · DOI
  7. Genc, E., & Arslan, G. (2023). Parents' childhood psychological mal- treatment and youth mental health: Exploring the role of attach- ment styles. Current Psychology, 42(30), 26783-26792. h t t p s : / / d o i . o / . 1 0 0 7 / s 1 2 1 4 4 -0 2 2 -0 3 7 6 -w Glaser, D. (2002). Emotional abuse and neglect (psychological maltreat- ment): A conceptual framework. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26(6-7), 697-714. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 16/S0 145-2134(02)00342-3 · DOI
  8. Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and con- ditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
  9. Hibbard, R., Barlow, J., & MacMillan, H. (2012). Psychological Mal- treatment Pediatrics, 130(2), 372-378. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 5 4 2 / p e d s . 2 0 1 2 -1 5 5 · DOI
  10. Hood-Morris, L. E. (1996). A spiritual well-being model: Use with older women who experience Depression. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 17(5), 439-455. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 3 1 0 9 / 0 1 6 1 2 8 4 9 6 0 9 0 0 9 4 · DOI
  11. Iwaniec, D., Larkin, E., & Higgins, S. (2006). Research review: Risk and resilience in cases of emotional abuse. Child & Family Social Work, 11(1), 73-82. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 11/j. 1365-2206.2006.00398.x · DOI
  12. Jankovic, C., Sharp, J., & Thielking, M. (2022). Child maltreatment and post-traumatic growth: Implications for the well-being of young adults. Child Abuse & Neglect, 131, 105783. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r / 1 0 . 1 0 1 6 / j . c h i a b u . 2 0 2 2 . 1 0 5 7 8 · DOI
  13. Kaya, A., Türk, N., Batmaz, H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2023). Online gaming addiction and basic psychological needs among adoles- cents: The mediating roles of meaning in life and responsibility. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 0 7 / s 1 1 4 6 9 -0 2 2 -0 0 9 9 4 -9 · DOI
  14. Krok, D. (2008). The role of spirituality in coping: Examining the rela- tionships between spiritual dimensions and coping styles. Mental Health Religion and Culture, 11(7), 643-653. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 8 0 / 1 3 6 7 4 6 7 0 8 0 1 9 3 0 4 · DOI
  15. Lin, C. P., & Tsai, M. K. (2020). Strengthening long-term job perfor- mance: The moderating roles of sense of responsibility and lead- er's support. Australian Journal of Management, 45(1), 134-152. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 77/03 12896219842629 · DOI
  16. Park, C. L. (2013). The meaning making model: A framework for understanding meaning, spirituality, and stress-related growth in health psychology. European Health Psychologist, 15(2), 40-47.
  17. Park, C. L., Cohen, L. H., & Murch, R. L. (1996). Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth. Journal of Personality, 64(1), 71-105. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 11/j. 1467-6494.1996.tb00815.x · DOI
  18. Peres, J. F., Moreira-Almeida, A., Nasello, A. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2007). Spirituality and resilience in trauma victims. Journal of Religion and Health, 46, 343-350. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 0 7 / s 1 0 9 4 3 -0 0 6 -9 1 0 3 -0 · DOI
  19. Arslan, G. (2015). Psikolojik Istismar Ölçeği Geliştirme Çalışması: Ergenler için Psikometrik Özelliklerinin İncelenmesi. Bartin Üni- versitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 4(2), 727-738.
  20. Arslan, G. (2017a). Psychological maltreatment, coping strategies, and mental health problems: A brief and effective measure of psycho- logical maltreatment in adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 68, 96-106. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 16/j. chiabu.2017.03.023 · DOI
  21. Arslan, G. (2017b). Psychological maltreatment, forgiveness, mind- fulness, and internet addiction among young adults: A study of mediation effect. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 57-66. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 16/j. chb.2017.02.037 · DOI
  22. Arslan, G. (2021a). Psychological maltreatment and spiritual wellbe- ing in Turkish College Young adults: Exploring the Mediating Effect of College Belonging and Social Support. Journal of Reli- gion and Health, 60(2), 709-725. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 0 7 / s 1 0 9 4 3 -0 2 1 -0 1 2 1 -y Arslan, G. (2021b). Psychological maltreatment predicts decreases in social wellbeing through resilience in college students: A condi- tional process approach of positive emotions. Current Psychol- ogy. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 07/s1 2144-021-01583-0 · DOI
  23. Arslan, G. (2022a). Measuring and promoting resilience in youth. In K. A. Allen, M. J. Furlong, D. A. Vella-Brodrick, & S. M. Suldo (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology in schools (pp. 493-507). Routledge. https:/ /doi.or g/10.43 24/97 81003013778-38 · DOI
  24. Arslan, G. (2022b). Psychological maltreatment and substance use among college students: Psychological distress, belongingness, and social support. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 1-24. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 80/15 332640.2022.2122098 · DOI
  25. Arslan, G., & Wong, P. T. (2022). Measuring personal and social responsibility: An existential positive psychology approach. Journal of Happiness and Health, 2(1), 1-11.
  26. Arslan, G., & Wong, P. (2024). Embracing life's challenges: Develop- ing a tool for assessing resilient mindset in second wave positive psychology. Journal of Happiness and Health, 4(1), 1-10.
  27. Bartolo, M. G., Palermiti, A. L., Servidio, R., & Costabile, A. (2023). I feel good, I am a part of the community: Social responsibility val- ues and prosocial behaviors during adolescence, and their effects on Well-Being. Sustainability, 15(23). h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 3 3 9 0 / s u 1 5 2 3 1 6 2 0 7 . Article 23. · DOI
  28. Brassard, M. R., Hart, S. N., & Glaser, D. (2020). Psychological mal- treatment: An international challenge to children's safety and well being. Child Abuse & Neglect, 110, 104611. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r / 1 0 . 1 0 1 6 / j . c h i a b u . 2 0 2 0 . 1 0 4 6 1 · DOI
  29. Bredle, J. M., Salsman, J. M., Debb, S. M., Arnold, B. J., & Cella, D. (2011). Spiritual well-being as a component of health-related quality of life: The Functional Assessment of chronic illness ther- apy-spiritual well-being scale (FACIT-Sp). Religions. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 3 3 9 0 / r e l 2 0 1 0 0 7 · DOI
  30. Curran, P. J., West, S. G., & Finch, J. F. (1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1(1), 16-29. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 3 7 / 1 0 8 2 -9 8 9 X . 1 . 1 . 1 · DOI · Paper page
  31. Shirkavand, L., Abbaszadeh, A., Borhani, F., & Momenyan, S. (2018). Correlation between spiritual well-being with satisfaction with life and death anxiety among elderlies suffering from cancer. Electronic Journal of General Medicine. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 2 9 3 3 3 / e j g m / 8 5 5 0 · DOI
  32. Vaughn, A. A., Roesch, S. C., & Aldridge, A. A. (2009). Stress-related growth in racial/ethnic minority adolescents: Measurement struc- ture and validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69(1), 131-145. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 77/00 13164408318775 · DOI
  33. Waters, L., Allen, K. A., & Arslan, G. (2021). Stress-related growth in adolescents returning to school after COVID-19 school closure. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 643443. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r / 1 0 . 3 3 8 9 / f p s y g . 2 0 2 1 . 6 4 3 4 4 · DOI
  34. Wong, P. T. P. (2012). Toward a dual-systems model of what makes life worth living. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for mean- ing: Theories, research, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 3-22). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
  35. Wong, P. (2020). Made for resilience and happiness: Effective coping with COVID-19 according to Viktor E. Frankl and Paul TP Wong. INPM Press.
  36. Wong, P. T. P., Arslan, G., Bowers, V. L., Peacock, E. J., Kjell, O. N. E., Ivtzan, I., & Lomas, T. (2021). Self-Transcendence as a Buffer Against COVID-19 Suffering: The Development and Validation of the Self-Transcendence Measure-B. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https:/ /doi.or g/10.33 89/fp syg.2021.648549 · DOI
  37. Wray-Lake, L., & Syvertsen, A. K. (2011). The developmental roots of social responsibility in childhood and adolescence. Youth Civic development: Work at the cutting edge (pp. 11-25). Jossey-Bass.
  38. Xiao, Z., Murat Baldwin, M., Wong, S. C., Obsuth, I., Meinck, F., & Murray, A. L. (2023). The impact of childhood psychological maltreatment on mental health outcomes in adulthood: A system- atic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 24(5), 3049-3064. https:/ /doi.or g/10.11 77/15 248380221122816 · DOI
  39. Yilmaz, F. B., & Satici, S. A. (2023). Childhood maltreatment and spiritual Well-Being: Intolerance of uncertainty and emotion reg- ulation as mediators in Turkish sample. Journal of Religion and Health. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 07/s1 0943-023-01965-7 · DOI
  40. Yıldırım, M., & Arslan, G. (2021). A moderated mediation effect of stress-related growth and meaning in life in the association between coronavirus suffering and satisfaction with life: Devel- opment of the stress-related growth measure. Frontiers in Psy- chology. https: //d oi. or g/10 .338 9 /fps yg.2021.648236 Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to juris- dictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. · DOI
  41. Pong, H. K. (2018). Contributions of religious beliefs on the devel- opment of university students' spiritual well-being. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 23(4), 429-455. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 8 0 / 1 3 6 4 4 3 6 X . 2 0 1 8 . 1 5 0 2 1 · DOI
  42. Quan, L., Lü, B., Sun, J., Zhao, X., & Sang, Q. (2022). The relation- ship between childhood trauma and post-traumatic growth among college students: The role of acceptance and positive reappraisal. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 921362. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 3 3 8 9 / f p s y g . 2 0 2 2 . 9 2 1 3 6 · DOI
  43. Rassart, J., Luyckx, K., Goossens, E., Apers, S., Klimstra, T. A., & Moons, P. (2013). Personality traits, quality of life and perceived health in adolescents with congenital heart disease. Psychology & Health, 28(3), 319-335. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 8 0 / 0 8 8 7 0 4 4 6 . 2 0 1 2 . 7 2 9 8 3 · DOI
  44. Ryan, R. M., Legate, N., Niemiec, C. P., & Deci, E. L. (2012). Beyond illusions and defense: Exploring the possibilities and limits of human autonomy and responsibility through self-determination theory. Meaning, mortality, and choice: The social psychology of existential concerns (pp. 215-233). American Psychological Association. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 37/13 748-012 · DOI
  45. Schilling, E. A., Aseltine, R. H., & Gore, S. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences and mental health in young adults: A longitudinal survey. BMC Public Health, 7(1), 30. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 1 8 6 / 1 4 7 1 -2 4 5 8 -7 -3 0 · DOI
  46. Seo, E. Y., & Kwon, S. (2018). The influence of spiritual well-being, self-esteem, and perceived social support on post-traumatic growth among breast cancer survivors. Asian Oncology Nursing, 18(4), 232-240. https:/ /doi.or g/10.53 88/ao n.2018.18.4.232 · DOI
  47. Seydooğulları, S. Ü. (2023). University students' wellbeing and men- tal health during COVID-19: An online photovoice approach. Journal of Happiness and Health, 3(2), 139-156. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r / 1 0 . 4 7 6 0 2 / j o h a h . v 3 i 2 . 6 · DOI
  48. Sharif Nia, H., Gorgulu, O., Naghavi, N., Robles-Bello, M. A., Sán- chez-Teruel, D., Khoshnavay Fomani, F., She, L., Rahmatpour, P., Allen, K. A., Arslan, G., & Sharif, P., S (2021). Spiritual Well-Being, Social Support, and Financial Distress in determin- ing Depression: The Mediating Role of Impact of Event dur- ing COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 754831. https:/ /doi.or g/10.33 89/fp syt.2021.754831 · DOI
  49. Shaw, A., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health Reli- gion & Culture, 8(1), 1-11. h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 8 0 / 1 3 6 7 4 6 7 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 5 7 9 · DOI · Paper page
  50. Shin, S. H., Lee, S., Jeon, S. M., & Wills, T. A. (2015). Childhood emotional abuse, negative emotion-driven impulsivity, and alco- hol use in young adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 50, 94-103. https:/ /doi.or g/10.10 16/j. chiabu.2015.02.010 · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Arslan, G.
Affiliations
Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi (TR)
Corresponding author
Arslan, Gökmen
ORCID
Arslan, Gökmen
Venue
Current Psychology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2025-01
Volume
44
Issue
2
Pages
1372-1381
ISSN
  • 1046-1310 (ISSN-L)
  • 1936-4733
DOI
10.1007/s12144-025-07280-6
OpenAlex
W4406132457
Cited by
8
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5
FWCI
9.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Current Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Mehmet Akif Ersoy University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
Keywords
child abuse, spiritual well-being, stress-related growth, emerging adults, sense of responsibility, mediation, moderation, adverse childhood experiences, protective factors

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review