FROM ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES TO INTERNALISING PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS: THE ROLE OF INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY, EXPERIENTIAL AVOIDANCE, AND NEUROTICISM IN A TRANSDIAGNOSTIC MODEL

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences have widely been demonstrated to be associated with subsequent onset of psychological difficulties. In recent years, studies have attempted to elucidate the mechanism of this association for specific psychological conditions. However, with the overlaps in symptomatology and high comorbidity rates of various mood and anxiety disorders, a transdiagnostic approach has increasingly been taken to investigate the factors underlying these psychological difficulties. This study aimed to examine the mechanism of the pathway by exploring transdiagnostic vulnerability factors like intolerance of uncertainty, experiential avoidance, and neuroticism. Results from both local college students and United States community samples revealed that intolerance of uncertainty and experiential avoidance had a serial mediating role in the pathway from adverse childhood experiences to internalising psychological symptoms. Specifically, intolerance of uncertainty acted as a distal factor and experiential avoidance served as a proximal factor to psychological symptoms. While the moderating effect of neuroticism on the two mediators was not significant, future directions of research were discussed. As a whole, the present study extends the existing literature on transdiagnostic pathways of internalising psychological difficulties, which can potentially guide the development or the enhancement of interventions.