Hating among adolescents: Common contributions of cognitive distortions and maladaptive personality traits

The phenomenon of hating is becoming common in adolescence, but it has been rarely investigated. The study aimed to examine the relationships between hating behaviors, maladaptive personality traits, and cognitive distortions, and to explore whether cognitive distortions might intervene in the relationship between personality traits and hating. Method: Participants (200 boys and 202 girls) completed the Hating Adolescents Test (HAT), the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form-Children (PID-5), and the How I Think Questionnaire (HITQ). Results: Preliminary results showed significant gender differences in the study’s variables: boys reported higher scores than girls on hating and on cognitive distortion minimizing, whereas no significant differences emerged on maladaptive personality traits. The mediation model showed that the cognitive distortion blaming others mediated the relationship between psychoticism and hating. Conclusions: Data suggested a mediating role of cognitive distortion blaming others in the relationship between psychoticism trait and hating behaviors.