ABSTRACT
Protective factors like peer and teacher social support should be identified to mitigate or prevent the detrimental effects of exposure to psychological maltreatment, which can result in traumatic consequences in adolescents at a critical stage of development. This study aimed to assess whether trust in teachers and friendship qualities mediate the effects of psychological maltreatment on youth internalizing behaviours using a multiple mediation model. The study is an observational, questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study. The study was conducted between January and April 2022 with 810 adolescents aged 14–18 years in the paediatric outpatient clinics of a state hospital. To test the research hypothesis, a parallel multiple mediator model was conducted using the PROCESS macro in Mediation Analysis. The study was reported based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. The results of multiple mediation analyses revealed a significant direct effect of psychological maltreatment on young internalizing behaviour and a significant indirect effect of psychological maltreatment on youth internalizing behaviour through trust in teachers and friendship qualities. Both trust in teachers and friendship qualities partially mediated the relationship between psychological maltreatment and youth internalizing behaviour. The development of school-based psychoeducational programmes, counselling services, and group-based support interventions for nurses and educators in adolescent and family education may be guided by the mediating impact of teacher and peer interactions.