Adverse childhood experiences and trauma symptoms in maltreated children: The role of child and caregiver protective factors

Background

Among children under the age of 18, approximately 58 % report experiencing one or more adverse childhood experience (ACE). Exposure to ACEs is consequential for children's development and increases risk of poor physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan. Resilience science suggests that protective factors within a child's social ecology can mitigate the impact of ACEs on outcomes.

Objective

The current study examines how personal and caregiver protective factors moderate the association between cumulative ACEs and child trauma symptoms in a sample of children receiving psychological services for maltreatment.

Methods

A retrospective file review of 71 participants aged 8 to 17 (M age = 12.6, SD = 2.5, 78.6 % girls) seen at a child and youth advocacy centre was conducted. Participants also completed questionnaires to assess trauma symptoms and protective factors.

Results

Analyses revealed that children's personal protective factors, such as perceived peer support, internal locus of control, and future orientation (r = −0.51, p < .001), as well as caregiver protective factors (r = −0.39, p = .010), were negatively correlated with their trauma symptoms. Furthermore, child personal protective factors were found to moderate the association between ACEs and trauma symptoms (β = −1.84, p = .036), suggesting that these factors mitigate the risk of cumulative ACEs. Caregiver protective factors did not moderate this association (β = −0.5, p = .700).

Conclusions

This study highlights the importance of embedding intrapersonal and interpersonal skills training in trauma-based intervention programs and encourages further research into the impacts of protective factors at different phases of child development.