The Role of Benevolent Childhood Experiences in the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms
Wen, D.J., and Demutska, A. (2025) The Role of Benevolent Childhood Experiences in the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms. Journal of Aggression Maltreatment and Trauma, 34 (4). pp. 518-537.
|
PDF (Published Version)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (964kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic childhood experiences that are associated with mental health issues such as Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). There is a lack of studies investigating resilience factors in individuals exposed to ACEs who may potentially develop CPTSD. Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) are positive childhood experiences that could potentially serve as protective or promotive factors for such individuals. The present study aimed to investigate if BCEs played the role of a 1) protective or 2) promotive factor in the development of CPTSD symptoms in adulthood among individuals exposed to ACEs. In addition, the individual components of CPTSD, namely Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Disturbances in Self Organization (DSO) symptoms, were investigated separately to better understand whether BCEs acted as a 1) protective or 2) promotive factor for these components. One hundred seventy-two university students from a psychology program in Singapore were recruited. The data were analyzed using a two-way analysis of covariance. We found trend-level evidence for BCEs as a moderator in the relationship between ACEs and CPTSD symptoms, as well as trend-level evidence for the main effect of BCEs on CPTSD symptoms. We found that BCEs moderated the relationship between ACEs and PTSD symptoms. Additionally, both ACEs and BCEs had significant main effects on DSO symptoms. These results suggests that high levels of BCEs may provide protective benefits for individuals exposed to substantial ACEs, potentially mitigating increases in PTSD symptoms. High levels of BCEs could reduce DSO symptoms regardless of the level of ACEs.
| Item ID: | 88493 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1545-083X |
| Keywords: | Adverse childhood experiences, benevolent childhood experiences, complex post-traumatic stress disorder |
| Copyright Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Date Deposited: | 01 May 2026 01:48 |
| FoR Codes: | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520302 Clinical psychology @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200105 Treatment of human diseases and conditions @ 100% |
| More Statistics |
Actions (Repository Staff Only)
 |
Item Control Page |