Childhood Trauma Subtypes and Emotional Distress: The Role of Derailment and Grit in Emerging Adults
6 affiliations
- 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- 2Mental Health Center, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China
- 3School of Statistics and Mathematics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
- 4Paula and Gregory Chow Institute for Studies in Economics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- 5Mental Health Center, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
- 6School of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Abstract
Experiencing trauma during childhood is associated with adverse emotional outcomes in emerging adulthood. Derailment, a relatively new concept, may statistically account for this association, yet its role across specific trauma subtypes remains underexplored. The present cross-sectional study examined derailment as a potential correlational mechanism and grit as a candidate protective factor, aiming to clarify the psychological associations linking different trauma subtypes to emotional distress among emerging adults. A total of 4,004 Chinese young adults (Mage = 20.54 ± 4.08) completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, derailment, grit, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Latent moderated mediation models were conducted to test these associations. All trauma subtypes were associated with higher emotional distress (β = 0.125–0.417, all p < 0.001). Derailment statistically accounted for part of these associations (β < 0.1 all p < 0.001) except for sexual abuse, whose mediation effect did not reach the smallest effect size of interest (0.10). Grit moderated the mediational pathways (β = −0.244 to − 0.155, all p < 0.001). Notably, the pattern for sexual abuse differed, indicating potentially distinct association patterns. Model fit indices indicated an acceptable fit to the data. These correlational findings suggest that derailment and grit jointly characterize how trauma subtype experiences relate to emotional distress, with potential implications for future research and interventions development among emerging adults with childhood trauma histories.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4.
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BibTeX
@article{dai2026childhood,
title = {{Childhood Trauma Subtypes and Emotional Distress: The Role of Derailment and Grit in Emerging Adults}},
author = {Li Dai and Helin Zou and Ziyi Yan and Yi Feng and Zhihong Qiao},
journal = {Journal of Child \& Adolescent Trauma},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Childhood Trauma Subtypes and Emotional Distress: The Role of Derailment and Grit in Emerging Adults
AU - Li Dai
AU - Helin Zou
AU - Ziyi Yan
AU - Yi Feng
AU - Zhihong Qiao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma
DO - 10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4
AB - Experiencing trauma during childhood is associated with adverse emotional outcomes in emerging adulthood. Derailment, a relatively new concept, may statistically account for this association, yet its role across specific trauma subtypes remains underexplored. The present cross-sectional study examined derailment as a potential correlational mechanism and grit as a candidate protective factor, aiming to clarify the psychological associations linking different trauma subtypes to emotional distress among emerging adults. A total of 4,004 Chinese young adults (Mage = 20.54 ± 4.08) completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, derailment, grit, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Latent moderated mediation models were conducted to test these associations. All trauma subtypes were associated with higher emotional distress (β = 0.125–0.417, all p < 0.001). Derailment statistically accounted for part of these associations (β < 0.1 all p < 0.001) except for sexual abuse, whose mediation effect did not reach the smallest effect size of interest (0.10). Grit moderated the mediational pathways (β = −0.244 to − 0.155, all p < 0.001). Notably, the pattern for sexual abuse differed, indicating potentially distinct association patterns. Model fit indices indicated an acceptable fit to the data. These correlational findings suggest that derailment and grit jointly characterize how trauma subtype experiences relate to emotional distress, with potential implications for future research and interventions development among emerging adults with childhood trauma histories. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-026-00920-4.
SN - 1936-1521
SN - 1936-153X
ER -