Association between Multitype Child Maltreatment and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Effects of Health Literacy and Perceived Stress

Child maltreatment is one of the most traumatic experiences that affect the development of children and adolescents. However, few studies have examined whether a history of greater exposure to multiple types of child maltreatment would impair the victims' life satisfaction. This study applied the multitype maltreatment framework to a sample of adolescents from rural China to investigate life satisfaction of children who have experienced multitype maltreatment and to examine the mediating effects of health literacy and perceived stress. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design and used a two-stage clustered sampling method. A sample of 815 (M = 16.17, SD = 1.53) adolescents was used for analysis. Results showed that children who have experienced multitype maltreatment have poorer life satisfaction, poorer health literacy, and higher perceived stress, compared with those who have experienced a single form of maltreatment and those who have experienced none. Multitype child maltreatment impacts the degree of the victims' life satisfaction not only directly but also indirectly, through health literacy and perceived stress (p < .001). Further longitudinal research using multidimensional measures of multitype maltreatment (e.g., severity and frequency) is needed to inform trauma-focused health promotion programs.