Ego-Resiliency as a Mediator Between Childhood Trauma and Psychological Symptoms

Abstract

Clinical research has firmly established that individuals who experience psychological trauma during their childhood are likely to display psychological or functional disorders in adulthood. However, a significant number of adults with a history of trauma remain psychologically healthy. These individuals have been described as resilient. although there has been much research on resilience in the past decades, the psychological processes involved are still debated. an important issue is whether resilience develops as a consequence of trauma (resilience as an outcome) or if resilience is a relatively common characteristic of many people that can emerge with or without traumatic experiences (resilience as a trait or ego-resiliency). in the present research, we propose an integration of these two perspectives by showing that ego-resiliency can play an important mediating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological symptoms. a total of 118 outpatients at a psychology clinic completed questionnaires measuring their level of childhood trauma, ego-resiliency, anxiety, depression, and self-harm behaviors. results revealed that ego-resiliency was a significant mediator of the relationship between childhood trauma and these three types of symptoms. implications for the conceptualization of resilience as a trait are discussed.

Trauma Theory Without Feminism? Evaluating Contemporary Understandings of Traumatized Women

“…No existe acuerdo en establecer si los factores resilientes están presentes incluso en personas no expuestas al trauma, siendo las propias características de estas personas las que hacen que no se desarrollen esas patologías. O si por el contrario, para desarrollar la resiliencia es necesario que se produzcan situaciones adversas, convirtiéndose en un proceso de aprendizaje y evolución continua (Philippe, Laventure, Beaulieu-Pelletier, Lecours, & Lekes, 2011)a significant number of adults with a history of trauma remain psychologically healthy. These individuals have been described as resilient.…”

The Structural Relationship among Trajectories of Ego-resilience, Neglectful Parenting, Bilingual Competency, and Acculturative Stress of Multicultural Adolescents in South Korea

“…Resilience (i.e., ego-resilience), as a characteristic inherent in all individuals, may function as a mediator between risk factors and developmental outcomes; ego-resilience serves as a protective factor to prevent against the impact of negative effects. Hence, ego-resilience can be seen as having a mediating effect rather than a moderating effect [26]. In fact, ego-resilience is known to play significant mediating roles in the relationship between childhood trauma and adult psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression [26], and between parenting and positive adaptation [27].…”

“…Hence, ego-resilience can be seen as having a mediating effect rather than a moderating effect [26]. In fact, ego-resilience is known to play significant mediating roles in the relationship between childhood trauma and adult psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression [26], and between parenting and positive adaptation [27].…”

We can help us: Does Community Resilience Buffer Against the Negative Impact of Flooding on Mental Health?

“…For example, high levels of ego-resilience, i.e. an "individual's capacity for flexible and resourceful adaptation to external and internal stressors" (Alessandri et al, 2012, p. 139), were positively associated with more favorable mental health outcomes following traumatic experiences (Philippe et al, 2011). Flood characteristics refer to the severity of exposure or perceived severity of losses.…”