The relationship between childhood adversities and complex posttraumatic stress symptoms: a multiple mediation model

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant characteristics

Variables	N (%)/M (SD)	PTSD symptoms /M (SD)	p	DSO symptoms /M (SD)	p
Age	20.73 (1.88)		.051		.092
Gender			.915		.157
Male	465 (34.2%)	11.57 (4.98)		12.25 (5.10)
Female	896 (65.8%)	11.60 (4.71)		12.67 (5.23)
Sibling(s)			.571		.230
Only child	445 (32.7%)	11.47 (4.80)		12.28 (5.15)
Not-only child	916 (67.3%)	11.64 (4.79)		12.64 (5.20)
Residence			.453		.694
Urban areas	789 (58.0%)	11.52 (4.82)		12.48 (5.29)
Rural areas	572 (42.0%)	11.70 (4.77)		12.59 (5.04)
Family structure
Intact	1234 (90.7%)	11.54 (4.80)	.180	12.49 (5.20)	.421
Non-intact	127 (9.3%)	12.13 (4.77)		12.88 (5.01)
Subjective social-economic status	4.89 (1.38)		< .001		< .001

p obtained from t-test or Pearson correlation.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses among DSO, PTSD, ACEs, self-kindness and self-judgement

Variables	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5
1. PTSD	11.59	4.80	1
2. DSO	12.53	5.19	.61*	1
3. Self-kindness	3.60	0.74	−.30*	−.39*	1
4. self-judgement	2.89	0.81	.25*	.35*	−.14*	1
5. ACEs	0.95	1.64	.34*	.38*	−.19*	.15*	1

* p < .001.

Table 3. Indirect effect statistics with bootstrap 95% CI

Indirect effect	B	95% CI	β	95% CI
Dependent variable: PTSD
Total indirect	0.05*	[.04, .07]	.10*	[.07, .13]
Specific indirect 1	0.03*	[.02, .05]	.06*	[.04, .09]
Specific indirect 2	0.02*	[.01, .03]	.03*	[.02, .06]
Dependent variable: DSO
Total indirect	0.07*	[.05, .09]	.12*	[.09, .16]
Specific indirect 1	0.04*	[.03, .06]	.08*	[.05, .11]
Specific indirect 2	0.03*	[.01, .04]	.05*	[.03, .07]

N = 1361. Bootstrap sample size = 5,000. * p < .001. B: Unstandardized coefficients; β: Standardized coefficients.

Total indirect: ACEs→ PTSD/DSO; Specific indirect 1: ACEs → self-kindness → PTSD/DSO; Specific indirect 2: ACEs → self-judgement → PTSD/DSO.

Figure 1. The model of mediating roles of self-kindness and self-judgement in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and PTSD/DSO symptoms

ACEs = Adverse childhood experiences, SK = Self-kindness, UN = Self-understanding, CA = Self-caring, SJ = self-judgement, CR = Self-criticism, IT = Self-intolerance, PTSD = Posttraumatic stress disorders, DSO = Disturbance in self-organization. RE = Re-experiencing, AV = Avoidance, TH = Threat hypervigilance, AD = Affect dysregulation, NSC = Negative self-concept, DR = Disturbances in relationships. All path coefficients were standardized coefficients. SES included as covariate which was not shown in the figure. * p < .01, ** p < .001.

Data availability statement

The Data are part of an ongoing project. For privacy or ethical restrictions, primary data are not publicly available. The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, X.C. ([email protected]) upon request https://osf.io/6dp4m/.