OBJECTIVE: Childhood trauma is a well-known risk factor for somatic symptoms, but the psychological mechanisms behind this link remain insufficiently understood. This study explored the association between childhood trauma and somatic symptoms through epistemic trust and reflective functioning in emerging adults. METHOD: = 2.87; 72% identified as female) were analyzed. Latent profile analysis identified childhood trauma exposure profiles. Structural equation modeling tested a parallel-serial mediation model examining the direct and indirect effects of trauma on somatic symptoms (15-item Patient Health Questionnaire), with epistemic stances (trust, mistrust, credulity) and reflective functioning (uncertainty and certainty about mental states) as mediators. Indirect effects were estimated using bootstrapping with 1,000 resamples. RESULTS: = 1,415), reflecting a pattern of generalized severity. Membership in the high-trauma profile was linked to greater somatic symptoms through two serial pathways. Trauma was associated with higher mistrust and credulity, which predicted greater uncertainty about mental states and, in turn, higher levels of somatic symptoms. In a second pathway, trauma-related mistrust, but not credulity, was linked to greater certainty about mental states, also predicting somatic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight how early relational trauma is associated with maladaptive epistemic stances and impaired reflective functioning, which in turn was associated with greater vulnerability to somatic distress. Interventions aimed at restoring epistemic trust and tolerance for mental-state uncertainty may mitigate somatic symptoms among trauma-exposed emerging adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Benzi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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