The relationship between parental psychological maltreatment during childhood and adulthood somatic symptoms through psychological resilience

This thesis deals with the relationship between parental psychological maltreatment in childhood and somatic symptoms in adulthood through psychological resilience. Parental psychological maltreatment is an important topic since its effect is quite detrimental and persistent. As the literature presents, psychological maltreatment in childhood is associated with psychological issues, such as somatic symptoms. Somatic symptoms are quite prevalent, yet the symptoms' psychological sources may be underestimated. Further, psychological resilience has been emphasized with its concept of successful adaptation after challenging circumstances and protection of mental health. According to literature, the relationship between these variables was investigated as a novel study in Turkey. During this investigation, correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were presented. The sample was 332 university students all around Turkey with a mean age of 21.2 (SD = 2.446). This study concludes that family cohesion mediates the relationship between parental undifferentiated rejection and adulthood somatic symptoms, and the relationship between paternal hostility and aggression and adulthood somatic symptoms. Moreover, it is presented that family cohesion mediates the relationship between paternal indifference and neglect and adulthood somatic symptoms. Lastly, perception of self mediates the relationship between paternal undifferentiated rejection and adulthood somatic symptoms. These findings present the importance of parental attitudes and consequently how they have an impact on the family structure while this situation influences children's well-being in the long run. In addition, the findings show that parental attitudes are also influential on individuals' perception toward themselves, therefore, their well-being.