Association Between Child Maltreatment and Aggression in Chinese Early Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Irritability

Authors：Baoyu Xu, Yonghan Li , Yuan Li , Jinyu Xie , Han Ding , Jun Wang, Puyu Su, Gengfu Wang

Source：J Interpers Violence. 2023 Sep 12:8862605231197141.

DOI: 10.1177/08862605231197141 

 

Abstract：

Child maltreatment (CM) is a major global public health issue, and a strong association exists between CM and aggression. However, the underlying mechanism of this association has not been understood to date. The objective of this study was to explore the mediating role of irritability in the association between CM and aggression in Chinese early adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-report questionnaire to evaluate the levels of CM, aggression, and irritability in 5,724 middle school students from the Anhui Province, China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis of the mediating effect of irritability on the relationship between CM and aggression. We further investigated gender differences in this association using multiple group analyses. CM was positively related to both irritability and aggression, and irritability was positively associated with aggression (p < .01). The mediating effects of irritability between CM and aggression were significant (β = .107, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.077-0.133, p < .05). Males had a higher indirect effect size of the pathway from CM to aggression via irritability compared with females. Overall, irritability was a crucial mediator in the relationship between CM and aggression in Chinese adolescents, and males were more prone to engage in aggression compared with females through the pathway of irritability. Therefore, early irritability characteristics should be carefully monitored in adolescents, and they should be provided adequate support to acquire critical emotion regulation skills.

 

摘要：

虐待儿童（CM）是一个重大的全球公共卫生问题，CM与侵略之间存在密切联系。然而，迄今为止尚未了解这种关联的潜在机制。本研究旨在探讨易激惹在中国青少年中医与攻击性关联中的中介作用。使用自我报告问卷进行了一项横断面研究，以评估中国安徽省 5,724 名中学生的 CM、攻击性和易怒程度。采用结构方程模型检验易激惹对CM与攻击性关系的中介作用假说。我们使用多组分析进一步调查了这种关联的性别差异。CM与易激惹和攻击性均呈正相关，易激惹与攻击性呈正相关（p<.01）。CM与攻击性易激惹的中介作用显著（β=.107,95%置信区间[CI]：0.077-0.133，p< .05）。与女性相比，男性通过易激惹从CM到攻击的途径的间接影响大小更高。总体而言，易激惹是中国青少年中医与攻击性关系的关键中介，与女性相比，男性更容易通过易激惹途径进行攻击。因此，应仔细监测青少年的早期易激惹特征，并应为他们提供足够的支持，以获得关键的情绪调节技能。

关键词：侵略;儿童虐待;青少年早期;兴奋性;中介效应。