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How Childhood Shapes Adolescents' Belief in Justice: A Longitudinal Study Examining the Link Between Childhood Stressful Environment and Belief in a Just World.

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Title: How Childhood Shapes Adolescents' Belief in Justice: A Longitudinal Study Examining the Link Between Childhood Stressful Environment and Belief in a Just World.
Authors: Jin, Yuqing (AUTHOR), Yang, Ying (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Personality. Apr2026, Vol. 94 Issue 2, p252-263. 12p.
Subjects: Adverse childhood experiences, Perceived discrimination, Personality, Teenagers, Belief & doubt, Psychological stress, Schemas (Psychology), Longitudinal method
Geographic Terms: China
Abstract: Objective: Belief in a just world refers to a personal belief regarding justice and serves adaptive functions in adolescent development. Previous research has mainly focused on the outcome variables of belief in a just world, such as psychological and behavioral responses related to injustice, while the predictors and mechanisms underlying its longitudinal development remain underexplored. Based on cognitive schema theory, justice capital theory, and life history theory, this study aimed to investigate the predictive role of childhood stressful environments—specifically, childhood harshness and unpredictability—and the mediating effect of discrimination perception on belief in a just world. Method: A three‐wave longitudinal study was conducted with 515 high school students in southeast China (Mage at Time 1 = 17.20, SDage = 0.46; 45.54% women). Results: Results showed that the childhood harshness negatively predicted belief in a just world, whereas childhood unpredictability was not significantly associated with it. Additionally, personal discrimination perception, rather than group discrimination perception, mediated the longitudinal relationship between childhood harshness and belief in a just world. Conclusions: This study offers a perspective focusing on individuals' former experiences for future research on the predictors of belief in a just world, highlighting how childhood adversity can shape perceptions of injustice during adolescence and jointly influence belief in a just world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Personality is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: How Childhood Shapes Adolescents' Belief in Justice: A Longitudinal Study Examining the Link Between Childhood Stressful Environment and Belief in a Just World.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jin%2C+Yuqing%22">Jin, Yuqing</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yang%2C+Ying%22">Yang, Ying</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Personality%22">Journal of Personality</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 94 Issue 2, p252-263. 12p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adverse+childhood+experiences%22">Adverse childhood experiences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Perceived+discrimination%22">Perceived discrimination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personality%22">Personality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teenagers%22">Teenagers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Belief+%26+doubt%22">Belief & doubt</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+stress%22">Psychological stress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Schemas+%28Psychology%29%22">Schemas (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+method%22">Longitudinal method</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective: Belief in a just world refers to a personal belief regarding justice and serves adaptive functions in adolescent development. Previous research has mainly focused on the outcome variables of belief in a just world, such as psychological and behavioral responses related to injustice, while the predictors and mechanisms underlying its longitudinal development remain underexplored. Based on cognitive schema theory, justice capital theory, and life history theory, this study aimed to investigate the predictive role of childhood stressful environments—specifically, childhood harshness and unpredictability—and the mediating effect of discrimination perception on belief in a just world. Method: A three‐wave longitudinal study was conducted with 515 high school students in southeast China (Mage at Time 1 = 17.20, SDage = 0.46; 45.54% women). Results: Results showed that the childhood harshness negatively predicted belief in a just world, whereas childhood unpredictability was not significantly associated with it. Additionally, personal discrimination perception, rather than group discrimination perception, mediated the longitudinal relationship between childhood harshness and belief in a just world. Conclusions: This study offers a perspective focusing on individuals' former experiences for future research on the predictors of belief in a just world, highlighting how childhood adversity can shape perceptions of injustice during adolescence and jointly influence belief in a just world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Personality is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=192289317
RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1111/jopy.13028
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 252
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      – SubjectFull: Adverse childhood experiences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Perceived discrimination
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Personality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teenagers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Belief & doubt
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological stress
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Schemas (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal method
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      – SubjectFull: China
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: How Childhood Shapes Adolescents' Belief in Justice: A Longitudinal Study Examining the Link Between Childhood Stressful Environment and Belief in a Just World.
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            NameFull: Jin, Yuqing
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            NameFull: Yang, Ying
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              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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