Profiles of Childhood Psychological Abuse and Neglect among Chinese College Students and Their Problematic Online Behaviors

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that multiple forms of abuse may co-occur, resulting in specific abuse typologies. However, there is little understanding of complex interrelations of the different psychological abuse subgroups and internet game addiction and cyber-bullying. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify latent profiles of childhood psychological abuse and neglect among Chinese college students. Further, this study sought to examine the demographic characteristics of these profiles and the correlations between the profiles and problematic internet behaviors. Methods: Latent profile analysis was undertaken to examine patterns among abuse and neglect characteristics. One-way multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the differences among profiles across six dimensions of psychological abuse and neglect. Multinomial logistic regression was then used to further examine how these profiles differed in demographic characteristics. Finally, Wald chi-square test was used to examine differences across profiles on online aggressive behavior and online gaming addiction. Results: Five latent profiles were identified: (1) Low Abuse and Neglect, (2) More Bark Than Bite, (3) Moderate Abuse and Neglect, (4) Traditional High Abuse and Neglect, and (5) High Abuse and Neglect. These profiles varied significantly across assessed domains of demographic characteristics, internet game addiction and cyber-bullying. Results indicated differential needs for effective interventions to address childhood psychological abuse and neglect. Conclusions: College students' online game addiction and online bullying behavior were closely related to childhood psychological abuse and neglect. In addition to problematic online behaviors, we conclude with discussion of the demographic characteristics of different potential categories. These findings have both practical and empirical significance for understanding and classifying experiences of psychological abuse and neglect.

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