Childhood neglect is the most common type of maltreatment, ranging from minor isolated incidents to consistent failures in emotional/physical caregiving. It has been associated with developmental impairments and considered a risk factor for the emergence of psychopathology, particularly internalizing disorders. This study aimed to explore individual differences in response to the continuum of severity of neglect in community adolescents, as well as the role of specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERSs) as mediators between childhood neglect and current internalizing symptoms. Low-risk adolescents (12–19 years old; M age 15.88 years; N = 123; 64 Females) completed questionnaires assessing these experiences. We employed a regression model and a simple mediation analyses. Findings indicate a positive association between childhood neglect, internalizing behaviors, and the adoption of self-blame as CERS. Moreover, the use of self-blame in response to everyday stress partially mediated the relationship between neglect and internalizing behaviors (effect size: .28). Findings support the hypothesis that even in a low risk sample, neglect is associated with internalizing symptoms, and highlight the importance of assessing individual differences in the experience of neglect. Moreover, the mediation effect of the CERSs of self-blame might serve as a potential target for psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at reducing internalizing symptoms.

中文翻译：

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自责介导低风险青少年童年被忽视经历与内化症状之间的联系

童年忽视是最常见的虐待类型，从轻微的孤立事件到持续的情感/身体照顾失败。它与发育障碍有关，并被认为是精神病理学（尤其是内化障碍）出现的危险因素。本研究旨在探讨社区青少年对连续严重忽视的个体差异，以及特定认知情绪调节策略（CERS）作为儿童忽视和当前内化症状之间中介的作用。低风险青少年（12-19 岁；M 年龄 15.88 岁；N = 123；64 名女性）完成了评估这些经历的调查问卷。我们采用了回归模型和简单的中介分析。研究结果表明，童年忽视、内化行为和采用自责作为 CERS 之间存在正相关。此外，使用自责来应对日常压力部分调节了忽视与内化行为之间的关系（效应大小：0.28）。研究结果支持这样的假设：即使在低风险样本中，忽视也与内化症状相关，并强调了评估忽视经历的个体差异的重要性。此外，自责的 CERS 的中介作用可能成为旨在减少内化症状的心理治疗干预的潜在目标。