Research shows that exposure to child maltreatment increases the risk of internalizing symptoms for youth, and that youth in foster care are at a particularly high risk of symptoms. However, not all youth who experience maltreatment evidence maladjustment, making the link between exposure and mental health outcomes unclear and creating a need to examine what factors buffer against symptomatology. A sample of youth in foster care was used to provide a new examination of the relation between child maltreatment exposure and internalizing symptoms, to test the possible moderating effects of both appraisals and spirituality, and examine differences between children and adolescents. Participants were 486 youth in foster care (M age = 13; 204 children; 282 adolescents). Youth completed self-report measures through the SPARK project (Studying Pathways to Adjustment and Resilience in Kids). Although appraisals and spirituality were not significant moderators, significant main effects emerged. For children, regression analyses showed that maltreatment exposure and lower scores on spiritual prosocial attitudes accounted for the majority of the 21% of the variance in internalizing symptoms. For adolescents 28% of the variance in internalizing symptoms was accounted for by greater maltreatment exposure, lower scores on spiritual prosocial attitudes, higher scores on relationship with a God/Higher Power, and more negative appraisals of stressful life events. The current study provides support for cognitive-based interventions for adolescents aimed at increasing appraisal flexibility and suggests that both children and adolescents could benefit from the development of prosocial attitudes often tied to spirituality but could be reinforced in additional settings.

中文翻译：

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虐待对寄养青年内化症状的影响：作为调节者的精神和评价的检验

研究表明，接触虐待儿童会增加青少年内化症状的风险，而寄养的青少年出现症状的风险特别高。然而，并非所有经历过虐待的年轻人都表现出适应不良，这使得暴露与心理健康结果之间的联系变得不清楚，并需要检查哪些因素可以缓冲症状。寄养青年的样本被用于对儿童虐待暴露与内化症状之间的关系进行新的检查，以测试评估和灵性的可能调节作用，并检查儿童和青少年之间的差异。参与者是 486 名寄养青年（M 年龄 = 13；204 名儿童；282 名青少年）。青少年通过 SPARK 项目（儿童调整和适应能力的学习途径）完成了自我报告措施。虽然评价和灵性不是显着的调节因素，但出现了显着的主效应。对于儿童，回归分析显示虐待暴露和精神亲社会态度的较低分数占内化症状变异的 21% 的大部分。对于青少年而言，内化症状的 28% 的差异是由于更多的虐待暴露、较低的精神亲社会态度得分、较高的与上帝/更高权力的关系得分以及对压力生活事件的更多负面评价。