Mindfulness and resilience as serial mediators of links between childhood psychological maltreatment and substance misuse

Abstract

Substance misuse is a seriously risky behavior in young adulthood. To protect and support the psychological health of university students, the risk factors and protective factors related to substance misuse should be examined. This study aims to examine the serial mediating role of mindfulness and resilience in the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and substance misuse. The sample of the study consists of a total of 383 university students, 269 female (70.2%) and 114 male (29.8%), aged between 18 and 28 years (M = 20.849, SD = 1.773). Research findings have proven that childhood psychological maltreatment is an important predictor of mindfulness, resilience, and substance misuse. The following results revealed that mindfulness and resilience played a partially serial mediating role in the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and substance misuse. The findings indicated that childhood psychological maltreatment is an important risk factor for substance misuse, and mindfulness and resilience may be protective factors in this relationship. All these results suggest that psychoeducational interventions that increase the mindfulness and resilience levels of young adults may contribute to alleviating substance misuse in individuals exposed to childhood psychological maltreatment.