Childhood Traumas and Impulsivity: The Mediating Role of Parental Attitudes

Abstract

Childhood traumas (CT) are common and an important risk factor for the development of mental complaints and psychopathologies. The first aim of the research was to determine the frequency of CT in a non-clinical sample and to investigate the relationship between this and impulsivity. Our second aim was to examine the mediating role of parental attitudes in people with impulsivity. The research group consists of 276 university students who met the inclusion criteria. Sociodemographic information form, Childhood Trauma Scale, Child Rearing Attitude Scale and Barrate Impulsivity Scale Short Form were applied to the participants who were interviewed face to face. SPSS 22.0 and LISREL 8.8 were used for the data analysis. The prevalence of CT was 30.9% in the research group. The most common CT subtype is emotional abuse and emotional neglect. The relationship between CT and impulsivity has been found, and parental attitudes are the key factors in the development of impulsivity. References from the parents are very important in understanding and making sense of the trauma experienced by the child. Parent education on this subject is very important for the prevention of psychopathologies that will develop due to trauma.