Dispositional optimism mediates relations between childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptom severity among trauma-exposed adults

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect Vol. 115; p. 105023
• Main Authors: Chen, Jenny, Christ, Nicole M., Shih, Chia-Hao, Xie, Hong, Grider, Stephen R., Lewis, Chandani, Elhai, Jon D., Wang, Xin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Antisocial Behavior; Child; Child Abuse; Child abuse & neglect; Child maltreatment; Child neglect; Child sexual abuse; Childhood factors; Emergency services; Emotional abuse; Humans; Mental Health; Optimism; Physical Abuse; Post traumatic stress disorder; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Protective factors; Psychological trauma; Psychological well being; PTSD; Resilience; Resilience (Psychology); Revictimization; Severity; Sex crimes; Sexual abuse; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Subtypes; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Trauma; Traumatic life events; Victimization; Well being; PTSD; Child abuse; Child neglect; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Child maltreatment; Optimism
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105023

•Childhood maltreatment predicts PTSD severity from an adult trauma.•Optimism mediates cumulative childhood maltreatment and adult PTSD severity.•Optimism mediates four subcategories of childhood maltreatment and PTSD severity.
Experiences of maltreatment in childhood, such as abuse and neglect, have been associated with poorer psychological well-being in adulthood, including elevated risk of revictimization and increased likelihood of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Maltreatment has also been associated with reduced resources related to resilience, such as optimism, which may act as a protective factor for mental health.
In this study, we examined the mediating role of dispositional optimism in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and PTSD symptom severity from recent trauma in a sample of adults (n = 108) who presented to their local emergency department following trauma.
We analyzed six models to account for cumulative childhood maltreatment as well as five primary subtypes of maltreatment: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect.
Greater dispositional optimism mediated relations between total maltreatment and decreased PTSD severity (Bab = .056, SE = .029, 95 % CI [.009, .121]). Optimism also mediated relations between all maltreatment subtypes and PTSD severity, except sexual abuse.
These results may suggest optimism and positive psychology interventions as effective techniques in reducing the likelihood of PTSD development and severity in trauma-exposed individuals.