Abstract Evidence suggests greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may result in poor health outcomes and reduced functioning in adulthood. The dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology (DMAP) provides a framework for studying childhood adversity by differentiating experiences of threat (e.g. abuse, violence exposure) and deprivation (e.g. neglect, institutional rearing). Positive perspectives on the self and the future, including hope, have been identified as important factors promoting resilience following childhood adversity. Thus, we examined whether hope moderates the influence of different types of childhood adversity on resilience, in accordance with the DMAP framework. Undergraduates ( N =778, 81.4% female) at a large public university completed an online survey including the ACEs Questionnaire, Brief Resilience Scale, and Trait Hope Scale. A moderation model controlling for gender was tested in R. Hope moderated the association between experiences of deprivation (β=0.21, p .05) and resilience. A simple slopes analysis revealed that the negative association between deprivation and resilience was attenuated at higher levels of hope. Results suggest a potential benefit in facilitating hope for those who experienced deprivation in childhood, while recognizing that hope may be less helpful to target for those who experienced adversity in the form of threat.
Harris et al. (Thu,) studied this question.