Childhood emotional abuse and mental health in college students: the mediating role of total and interpersonal stressor exposure

Objective: Childhood emotional abuse is related to mental health disorders, yet little is known about mechanisms underlying this association. We examined daily stressors as mediators of this link. Participants: Longitudinal data from college students were collected across two studies (ns = 306 and 362). Both samples were primarily White, heterosexual, and women. Methods: In Study 1, participants completed a measure of current stressors and psychological adjustment two weeks after completing a measure of childhood trauma. In Study 2, participants completed a baseline measure of childhood trauma, 14 days of stressor exposure surveys, and then a distress measure. Results: Greater childhood emotional abuse was related to experiencing more total and interpersonal stressors, and stressors were related to poorer mental health. Indirect effects of both stressors were significant. Conclusion: Early adversity may bring about more stressors in adulthood, which might explain why survivors of childhood emotional abuse report poorer mental health as adults.