Objective: Childhood trauma is associated with a variety of risky, unhealthy, or problem behaviors. The current study aimed to explore experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes as mechanisms through which childhood trauma and problem behavior are linked in a college sample.
Participants: The sample consisted of college-aged young adults recruited November-December, 2016 (N = 414).
Methods: Participants completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, current problem behavior, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness processes. Bootstrapped mediation analyses examined the mechanistic associations of interest.
Results: Mediation analyses indicated that experiential avoidance was a significant mediator of the association between childhood trauma and problem behavior. Additionally, multiple mediation analyses indicated that specific mindfulness facets-act with awareness and nonjudgment of inner experience-significantly mediated the same association.
Conclusions: Interventions for college students who have experienced childhood trauma might profitably target mechanisms such as avoidance and mindfulness in order to minimize engagement in problem behavior.
Keywords: Mental health; experiential avoidance; mindfulness; problem behavior; trauma.