The influence of a child's intellectual abilities on psychological trauma: The mediation role of resilience

Abstract

ObjectivePsychological trauma exists in children and has a real impact on their mental and physical health. There is mixed evidence that post-traumatic stress disorder can be influenced by a child's intellectual abilities. This study analysed whether resilience mediates the link between intellectual abilities and post-traumatic stress disorder in children. MethodsParticipants were children (N = 30) from 6 to 12 years of age. They completed a detailed history, took an intellectual quotient test, and answered questionnaires about their resilience and their post-traumatic stress symptoms. ResultsResults showed that the higher the children's visual spatial skills, the more resilient they were. Then, our analyses indicated that the higher the children's verbal comprehension skills, the fewer the symptoms of psychotrauma they presented. Moreover, our results showed that cultural resilience mediates the relationship between children's verbal comprehension skills and their symptoms of psychotrauma. ConclusionCultural resilience and verbal comprehension skills emerged as important protective factors. This study suggests that early prevention intervention may target children with lower cognitive abilities, and that social and cultural support should be considered ways of prevention for psychotrauma.