The study examined whether resilience mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and self-esteem in college students. 224 students completed surveys measuring childhood trauma, resilience, and self-esteem. Results of a path analysis showed that all types of childhood trauma were negatively associated with both resilience and self-esteem. Resilience was positively associated with self-esteem. While resilience partially explained the influence of childhood trauma on self-esteem, it did not fully mediate the relationship. Thus, childhood trauma directly impacts self-esteem as well as indirectly through resilience.

1. Problem
•Childhood trauma is associated with multiple adverse
outcomes in adulthood.
•People with traumatic childhood backgrounds tend
be more vulnerable for victimization (Widom, Czaja,
Dutton, 2008) and psychological distress (Minnes,
Singer, Humphrey-Wall, & Satayathum, 2008).
•Childhood trauma may also lead to the development
of antisocial tendencies and aggressive behaviors in
adults (Krisher & Sevecke, 2008).
•This has led to work on potential protective influences
that might shield one from the effects of childhood
trauma.
•Researchers have investigated resiliency, which has been
shown to influence self-esteem and life satisfaction (Mak,
Ivy, Ng, & Wong, 2011).
•Higher resilience is associated with better
adjustment, emotional, and academic outcomes
(Elias & Haynes, 2008; Foran, Adler, McGurk, &
Bliese, 2012).
•The purpose of the current study was to determine if
resilience would serve as a mediator in the relationship
between childhood trauma and self-esteem among
college students.
Method
•Participants: 224 college students (90 men, 134 women)
from two Midwestern state universities.
•Mean age: 21.39 (SD = 4.72).
•62.7% Black, Non-Hispanic
•20.9% White, Non-Hispanic
•16.4% All other ethnicities combined
•Three self-report scales were used:
•Brief Resiliency Scale (Smith, Dalen, Wiggins, Tooley,
Christopher, & Bernard, 2008)
•Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Short Form
(Bernstein, et al., 2003)
•Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1986)
•That is, resilience doesn’t protect from the effects of
childhood trauma, but is one avenue through which that
influence travels.
•It seems that childhood trauma negatively influences
one’s resiliency, which negatively influences one’s self-
esteem.
•Resiliency explains some of the influence of childhood
trauma, but does not appear to be a protective factor in
this study.
Conclusions
•The hypothesis was not supported.
•Childhood trauma directly influenced self-esteem, but
some of its influence flowed through resiliency.
•Resiliency seems to serve as a channel for the influence
of trauma.
For more information or a list of our references, please
contact esmewalls@yahoo.com or
kamden.strunk@okstate.edu
Results
•A path model was created with direct paths from all
three indicators of childhood trauma to self-esteem, a
direct path from resiliency to self-esteem, and paths
from all three indicators of childhood trauma to
resiliency.
•Emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect
were all negatively associated with self-esteem.
•Resiliency was positively associated with self-esteem.
•Emotional abuse and emotional neglect were
negatively associated with resiliency.
•As compared with direct prediction, emotional abuse is
about the same, sexual abuse is about the same, and
emotional neglect is about the same, in terms of total
effect.
Resiliency as a Pathway of Influence for
Childhood Trauma on Self-Esteem
Tatavia Butler, Esme L. Walls, Kamden K. Strunk, & Yvonne K. Montgomery
Emotional
Abuse
Sexual
Abuse
Emotional
Neglect
Resiliency
Self-Esteem
-.150-.206
-.272
.325
.748-.210 .066NS
-.175
.958
.610.404
.378
Emotional
Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Emotional
Neglect
Self-Esteem
-.208
-.184
-.342
.610.404
.378
Variable Direct Indirect Total
Emotional Abuse -.150 -.057 -.207
Sexual Abuse -.206 .021 -.185
Emotional Neglect -.272 -.068 -.340