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.