Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) refer to stressful or traumatic events that children face before reaching 18. These include various forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), neglect (emotional, physical), and household challenges such as witnessing domestic violence, living with substance abusers, having an incarcerated relative, or experiencing family separation.
Studies have shown that individuals with a high number of ACEs are at an increased risk for negative outcomes in adulthood, including chronic diseases, mental illness, substance misuse, and reduced life potential. The more ACEs one has, the greater the risk for these outcomes.
A little girl sat on the floor with face in her hands while there is the shadow of her parents arguing on the wall
Key Points
Rationale
Past research shows links between ACEs and later difficulties like dissociation, emotion regulation problems, and insecure attachment patterns (anxious and avoidant; Corcoran & McNulty, 2018).
However, few studies have examined the specific indirect roles of dissociation and emotion regulation together in explaining the relationship between ACEs and adult attachment insecurity, especially in non-clinical groups (Hébert et al., 2018; Poole et al., 2018).
Understanding these connections better informs intervention and prevention efforts targeting resilience after adversity.
Method
Sample
Statistical Analysis
Results
Insight
This study uniquely demonstrates how both dissociation and emotion dysregulation together help explain why adults exposed to adversity in childhood later struggle in close relationships, desiring extreme closeness due to anxieties or avoiding intimacy altogether.
Even small psychological disruptions after adversity can accumulate and manifest interpersonal.
Strengths
Limitations
Implications
The findings suggest clinicians should assess dissociation, emotion regulation capacities, andattachment styleswhen treating adults with childhood adversity histories.
Enhancing emotion regulation skillsand resolving dissociative tendencies may mitigate later social challenges. Prevention efforts with children should prioritize cultivatinghealthy attachment relationshipsand building coping skills.
Conclusion
This study advances understanding of how early adversity disrupts developmental processes, identifying new explanatory mechanisms for lasting interpersonal effects.
The mediating roles of dissociation and emotional dysregulation in linking adverse experiences to adult attachment styles warrant further investigation, especially clinically.
Future Research
Continued research on resilience factors fostering secure attachment after adversity is vital. Though complex, making progress in mitigating the intergenerational effects of childhood adversity remains imperative.
To build on this study, future research should utilize longitudinal designs tracking individuals over time to establish temporal sequencing between early adversity, mediating factors like dissociation and emotion dysregulation, and adult attachment outcomes.
Additionally, recruited samples should include wider demographic variability and specifically target clinical populations with confirmed trauma histories to determine generalizability of the mediation results.
Studies must move beyond self-reporting, incorporating clinician assessments, observational measures of functioning, and physiological indicators of stress systems.
Treatment outcome research could also examine whether directly intervening to improve emotion regulation abilities and resolve dissociative tendencies helps ameliorate insecure attachment patterns following childhood adversity.
References
Primary Paper
Snyder, K. S., Luchner, A. F., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2023). Adverse childhood experiences and insecure attachment: The indirect effects of dissociation and emotion regulation difficulties.Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.Advance online publication.
Other References
Corcoran, M., & McNulty, M. (2018). Examining the role of attachment in the relationship between childhood adversity, psychological distress and subjective well-being.Child Abuse & Neglect, 76, 297–309.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.11.012
Hayes, A. F. (2013).Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
Hébert, M., Langevin, R., & Oussaïd, E. (2018). Cumulative childhood trauma, emotion regulation, dissociation, and behavior problems in school-aged sexual abuse victims.Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 1–20.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.08.044
Poole, J. C., Dobson, K. S., & Pusch, D. (2018). Do adverse childhood experiences predict adult interpersonal difficulties? The role of emotion dysregulation.Child Abuse & Neglect, 80,123–133.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.03.006
Further Reading
Learning Check
What role might a person’s support system outside the family play in mediating ACEs effects?Could attachment insecurity and emotion dysregulation have bidirectional impacts across development?Might the study variables function differently across unexamined cultural groups?What inferences can reasonably be made applying these non-clinical white sample findings to specialized clinical populations?How might self-report measurement limitations related to psychological constructs like dissociation impact interpretations?
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
