Childhood maltreatment and materialism in young adults – the mediating roles of self-esteem in childhood, materialism in childhood, and present self-esteem

The literature suggests that negative childhood experiences that affect a child’s self-concept are one of the determinants of materialism in adulthood. We hypothesize that childhood maltreatment, in particular, may be related to materialism in adulthood. Although there is consensus about the negative effects of childhood maltreatment, there is a lack of research showing how such experiences affect economic attitudes, particularly levels of materialism. This study investigated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and materialism in young adulthood in order to understand the psychological mechanisms of this relationship by testing a serial triple mediation model with childhood self-esteem, childhood materialism, and current self-esteem as mediators. We used the CAWI methodology with a sample of Polish young adults (20–25 years old, N = 443). Participants answered a retrospective questionnaire concerning childhood experiences aged 7–10 (childhood maltreatment, self-esteem, and materialism) and questions about the present (current self-esteem and materialism). Hayes' PROCESS macro was used to test the research hypotheses. The results suggest that childhood maltreatment is associated with materialism in young adulthood. Moreover, our results revealed several indirect pathways showing which consequences of childhood maltreatment (lower self-esteem in childhood and adulthood and increased materialism in childhood) are associated with increased materialism in young adulthood.