Does Childhood Trauma Predict Impulsive Spending in Later Life? An Analysis of the Mediating Roles of Impulsivity and Emotion Regulation

This study used a cross-sectional, correlational design including 189 adult participants who completed an online survey assessing childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences, impulsive spending, impulsivity, and emotion dysregulation. Greater adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma were positively correlated with impulsive spending, as well as general impulsivity and emotion dysregulation. Mediation analyses indicated that emotion dysregulation and greater impulsivity accounted for the positive relationship between childhood trauma and impulse spending. Adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma are associated with increased risk of impulse spending in adulthood via elevated general impulsivity and emotion dysregulation.
Source: Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma - Category: Child Development Source Type: research