Objective
This study aimed to investigate the role of pride and self‐esteem in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and benign envy/malicious envy in Chinese college students.
Methods
One thousand fifty‐one Chinese college students completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, the Authentic and Hubristic Pride‐Proneness Scale and the Benign and Malicious Envy Scale, and the significance test of mediating variables was performed.
Results
Self‐esteem and hubristic pride independently mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and benign envy/malicious envy, authentic pride only played a mediating role in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and benign envy. More importantly, the model indicated that childhood maltreatment could influence benign envy/malicious envy through the chain mediating path of ‘authentic pride–self‐esteem’ and ‘hubristic pride–self‐esteem’.
Conclusions
Authentic pride, hubristic pride and self‐esteem might be the possible mechanisms through which childhood maltreatment influences benign envy/malicious envy in adulthood. This study provides insights into the role of pride and self‐esteem in the childhood maltreatment–benign (malicious) envy link from the perspective of the learned helplessness theory. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.