COULD FAMILY WELL-BEING MODERATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND SOMATOFORM DISSOCIATION? A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

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Date

2023-07-09

Authors

Cheung, Cherry T. Y.
Cheng, Clement Man-Him
Lee, Vincent Wan Ping
Lam, Stanley Kam Ki
He, Kyle Langjie
Ling, Henry Wai-Hang
Lee, Kunhua
Ross, Colin A.
Fung, Hong Wang

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract

The impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been well documented. One possible consequence of ACEs is dissociation, which is a major feature of post-traumatic psychopathology and is also associated with considerable impairment and health care costs. Although ACEs are known to be associated with both psychoform and somatoform dissociation, much less is known about the mechanisms behind this relationship. Little is known about whether social and interpersonal factors such as family environments would moderate the relationship between ACEs and somatoform dissociation. This paper discusses the importance of having a positive and healthy family environment in trauma recovery. We then report the findings of a preliminary study in which we examined whether the association between ACEs and somatoform dissociation would be moderated by family well-being in a convenience sample of Hong Kong adults (N = 359). The number of ACEs was positively associated with somatoform dissociative symptoms, but this association was moderated by the level of family well-being. The number of ACEs was associated with somatoform dissociation only when the family well-being scores were low. These moderating effects were medium. The findings point to the potential importance of using family education and intervention programs to prevent and treat trauma-related dissociative symptoms, but further investigation is needed.

Description

16 pages

Keywords

ACEs, family environment, somatoform dissociative symptoms

Citation

Cherry T.Y. Cheung, Clement Man-Him Cheng, Vincent Wan Ping Lee, Stanley Kam Ki Lam, Kyle Langjie He, Henry Wai-Hang Ling, Kunhua Lee, Colin A. Ross & Hong Wang Fung (2023): COULD FAMILY WELL-BEING MODERATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND SOMATOFORM DISSOCIATION? A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION, Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2023.2233095