Childhood adversities and life satisfaction: The moderator role of perceived resilience in early adulthood

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of childhood physical neglect (CPN), childhood physical abuse (CPA), and the moderator role of perceived resilience on adult life satisfaction (LS). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health public-use Wave 3 dataset were used, which included a nationally representative sample (N = 4,397) whose ages ranged from 21 to 28 (M = 21.83, SD = 1.81). The factor structure of the perceived resilience scale was examined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Ordinal logistic regression (OLR) analysis was used for data analysis, and McFadden's Pseudo R-squares were reported to compare the OLR models. Age, gender, and education were controlled in the study. The results showed that CPA and CPN had a negative direct effect on adult LS. Although the effect of resilience on adult LS was found highly significant in this study, the moderator role of resilience was not found significant. Gender differences were found in adult LS when perceived resilience was taken into account. These findings suggest that childhood adversity is a critical factor in adult LS. Future studies should focus on protective factors, strategies for establishing, building, reinforcing resilience, and gender dynamics in childhood adversities and well-being.

Keywords:

• Childhood adversity
• life satisfaction
• physical abuse
• physical neglect
• resilience

Acknowledgment

Special thanks to Nancy Hathaway for her comments on manuscript and editorial help.