Open Access

ARTICLE

The Effects of Childhood Trauma on College Students’ Depressive Symptoms: The Mediation Role of Subjective Well-Being and the Moderation Role of Resilience

Fuhua Yang¹, Jiaci Lin³, Rong Chen², Chunlin Gao¹, Maoying Cui¹, Keli Yin^3,*

1 School of information, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650500, China
2 Yunnan Key Laboratory of Dai and Yi Medicines, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, 650500, China
3 Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, China

* Corresponding Author: Keli Yin. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Social Stress, Adversity, and Mental Health in Transitional China)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2024, 26(9), 757-766. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.049922

Received 22 January 2024; Accepted 01 August 2024; Issue published 20 September 2024

Abstract

Background: The enduring and detrimental impact of childhood trauma on later health and well-being is now well established. However, research on the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms, along with the potential risk and protective factors, is insufficient in the context of Chinese college student population. Methods: Data on childhood trauma, depressive symptoms, resilience, and subjective well-being were collected through surveys conducted with 367 Chinese university students. The data collected in this study were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS 3.5. Results: The results revealed that subjective well-being mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms among college students, with direct and indirect effects accounting for 59.46% and 40.54% of the total effect, respectively. The pathway process between subjective well-being and depressive symptoms was moderated by resilience, whereby an increase in resilience levels corresponded to a gradual escalation in the predictive power of subjective well-being on depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The study indicates that childhood trauma significantly and positively predicts depressive symptoms among college students, and it can also directly predict depressive symptoms through the mediating effect of subjective well-being. Elevating levels of psychological resilience and subjective well-being among college students can mitigate depression and promote psychological well-being. From the perspective of positive psychology, the present study provides a new perspective for the prevention and intervention of depressive symptoms among college students.

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