Childhood Maltreatment and Depression Among Emerging Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Moment-to-Moment Dynamics of Perceived Control and Negative Affect

Ting He, Wenrui Zhang, Yingying Tang, Qinglu Wu, Chengyi Xu, Xiuyun Lin, School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University

Emerging Adulthood

Published online on March 14, 2026

Abstract

Emerging Adulthood, Ahead of Print.
Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a known risk factor for depression, yet its daily cognitive-emotional mechanisms remain unclear, especially under unpredictable stressors like COVID-19. This study examined whether CM relates to mean levels and daily ...