The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Sense of Meaning in Life among Middle School Students: The Chain Mediating Roles of Social Support and Core Self-Evaluation

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Previous research has focused mainly on the direct connection between the two factors; however, little is known about the potential mediators of this relationship. To address this gap, the present study constructed a chain mediation model to examine whether social support and core self-evaluation mediate the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life among middle school students. Methods: A total of 2273 middle school students completed a self-report questionnaire about their childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support, and core self-evaluation. The data were collected from students at 23 middle schools in South China. Statistical analysis was conducted via SPSS 27.0 and SPSS PROCESS. Results: The results indicated that (1) the direct effect of childhood trauma on the sense of meaning in life among middle school students was significant, and (2) social support and core self-evaluation significantly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life via three mediating pathways: the individual mediating role of social support, the individual mediating role of core self-evaluation, and the chain mediating roles of social support and core self-evaluation. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that mitigating the negative impact of childhood trauma, increasing the strength of social support networks, and cultivating positive core self-evaluation may be key strategies for enhancing the sense of meaning in life among middle school students. Childhood trauma Sense of meaning in life Social support Core self-evaluation Chain intermediary Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Background Childhood trauma refers to single or multiple forms of abuse and neglect experienced by individuals during childhood [ 1 ], such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, or emotional neglect. In recent years, childhood trauma has gradually become a global problem. A survey by the World Health Organization revealed that more than one-third of the population has experienced childhood trauma. Childhood trauma may be the cause of mental disorders in 28.9% of patients, and it impacts physical and mental health throughout the entire life course [ 2 ]. Individuals who experience childhood trauma may experience negative psychological reactions such as fear, anxiety, and depression [ 3 ]. If these reactions are not properly addressed, individuals may develop mental disorders in adolescence [ 4 ] and even exhibit extreme behaviors such as self-injury and suicide [ 5 ]. However, the specific mechanism underlying the impact of childhood trauma has yet be fully elucidated. Childhood Trauma and Sense of Meaning in Life among Junior High School Students According to social ecology theory, the formation and development of individual cognition, attitudes, and habitual behavior are all nested in micro-, meso-, and macroenvironmental systems that interact with each other, and the life events and experiences of individuals interact with the environment [ 6 ]. The life development model indicates that the early growth environment affects an individual's psychological and behavioral development patterns [ 7 ]. When individuals who have experienced childhood trauma encounter negative events, they exhibit more negative behaviors and psychological problems than do individuals who have not experienced trauma [ 8 ] and have a lower sense of meaning in life [ 9 ]. The sense of meaning in life is defined as an individual's understanding and feeling of the meaning and value of life itself [ 10 ]. Sense of meaning in life is an important preventive factor against self-injury and suicide among adolescents [ 11 ]. Individuals with a greater sense of meaning in life are healthier psychologically [ 12 ], while lower levels of sense of meaning in life may lead to negative emotions such as depression and anxiety [ 13 ]. Interventions that influence an individual's sense of meaning in life may be useful for reducing an individual's risk of suicide [ 14 ] and improving an individual's positive emotions and psychological qualities [ 15 ]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 1: Childhood trauma negatively predicts the sense of meaning in life. The Mediating Role of Social Support Social support refers to the external resources available to individuals who are experiencing stress [ 16 ], including material and spiritual support such as family, school, peers, and society. Experiencing trauma may change an individual's perception of the environment. For example, abused children who grow up in dysfunctional families may not feel the support of their families [ 17 ], but good social support can reduce the negative effects of childhood trauma [ 18 ]. After children who experience trauma perceive social support from peers, parents, etc., they gain a greater sense of meaning in life [ 19 ]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 2: social support plays an intermediary role in the association between childhood trauma and a sense of meaning in life. The Mediating Role of Core Self-evaluation Core self-evaluation refers to the most basic evaluation of an individual's value and ability [ 20 ]. Core self-evaluation is an important part of an individual's self-perception and is a deep-seated personality resource structure that includes four psychological traits, such as self-esteem and general self-efficacy. Individuals who have experienced childhood trauma tend to think repeatedly about the negative stimuli associated with the traumatic event, resulting in a negative cognitive response style and a negative core self-evaluation [ 21 ]. Individuals with a high level of negative self-evaluation excessively and negatively interpret adverse events in their lives, resulting in negative emotions such as pain, which is not conducive to the acquisition of a sense of meaning in life [ 22 ]. Interventions impacting the core self-evaluation of college students can significantly enhance their sense of meaning in life [ 23 ]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 3: core self-evaluation plays an intermediary role in the association between childhood trauma and the sense of meaning in life. The Chain Mediating Roles of Social Support and Core Self-Evaluation The strong correlation between social support and core self-evaluation has been confirmed by multiple studies. The self-system model posits [ 24 ] that if the perceived social environment is more supportive, an individual's needs in terms of ability, sense of belonging, etc., will be better met, and therefore, the person will be more effective in facing external challenges and will have a greater self-evaluation. Childhood is a critical period for the formation of individual self-cognition. Children gradually develop self-concepts and cognitions in the interpersonal interactions of the surrounding society [ 25 ], and the higher the degree of active interpersonal interaction is, the greater the child's core self-evaluation is [ 26 ]. Studies have also shown that perceptive social support significantly improves junior high school students' sense of meaning in life and that self-esteem fully mediates this relationship [ 27 ]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 4: social support and core self-evaluation are chain mediators of the association between childhood trauma and a sense of meaning in life. The research model is shown in Fig. 1 . Methods Participants This cross-sectional study included junior high school students (grades 7 to 9) from 23 middle school in South China. The students were recruited using holistic and convenience sampling. The researchers use a unified instructional language to provide uniform instructions to participants. Questionnaires were completed anonymously, and the participants were asked to complete the questionnaire carefully and independently. A total of 2273 valid questionnaires were obtained. Among the 2,273 participants, 1,131 were girls, and 1,142 were boys. Measures Meaning of Life Scale The Meaning of Life Scale, which was revised by Liu Sisi et al [ 28 ], includes 9 questions across two dimensions: sense of meaning of life and sense of seeking meaning. Each item is scored on a scale ranging from 1 ("completely inconsistent") to 7 ("completely consistent"). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.88. Childhood Trauma Scale The Childhood Trauma Scale, which was revised by Bernstein [ 29 ] includes 28 items across 5 dimensions: physical neglect, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse. Higher total scores indicate more severe childhood trauma. Moderately severe childhood trauma was indicated by the following scores on the individual dimensions: emotional abuse ≥ 13, physical abuse ≥ 10, sexual abuse ≥ 8, emotional neglect ≥ 15, physical neglect ≥ 10. A lack of childhood trauma was indicated by the following scores on the individual dimensions: emotional abuse < 13, physical abuse < 10, sexual abuse < 8, emotional neglect < 15, and physical neglect < 10. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.81. Social Support Scale The Social Support Scale, which was developed by Xiao Shuiyuan [ 30 ], includes 10 items across three dimensions: subjective support, objective support and utilization of support. Items 1–5 and items 8–10 are scored on a scale ranging from 1 to 4 points. Items 6 and 7 assess the number of sources of social support. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.87. Core Self-evaluation Scale The Core Self-evaluation Scale, which was revised by Du Jianzheng et al [ 31 ], includes 10 items. Each item is scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 ("completely disagree") to 5 ("completely agree"). Higher scores indicate greater core self-evaluations. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.83. Statistical Analysis The PROCESS program developed by SPSS 27.0 and Hayes (2013) was used for data analysis. First, descriptive analysis was performed via SPSS 27.0 to accurately characterize the sample. Second, Pearson’ correlation analysis was conducted to quantify the associations between childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support, and core self-evaluation. Finally, SPSS macro model 6 was used to quantitatively examine the chain mediating effects of social support and core self-evaluation. Statistical significance was indicated by a p-value of 0.05. Bootstrapping was conducted with 5000 samples and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Common Method Bias In this study, Harman’s single factor test was conducted to analyze common method bias. The results revealed that the maximum interpretation percentage was much lower than the standard value of 40%, and there was no factor with excessive interpretation power, indicating that there was no serious common method bias problem. Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis The correlations between childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support and core self-evaluation are shown in Table 1 . Childhood trauma was negatively correlated with sense of meaning in life (r=-0.254, p < 0.001), core self-evaluation (r=-0.514, p < 0.001), and social support (r=-0.595, p < 0.001). Sense of meaning in life was positively correlated with core self-evaluation (r = 0.282, p < 0.001) and social support (r = 0.275, p < 0.001). Social support was positively correlated with core self-evaluation (r = 0.605, p < 0.001). Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations among variables Predictors M SD 1 2 3 4 1. Childhood trauma 51.19 10.35 1 2. Sense of meaning in life 41.47 11.40 − .254*** 1 3. Social support 31.61 6.11 − .595*** .275*** 1 4. Core self-evaluation 33.10 7.76 − .514*** .282*** .605*** 1 Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 The relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life: chain mediation analysis Using the SPSS plug-in PROCESS model 6 developed by Hayes, bootstrapping was performed with 5000 samples. A mediation effect is considered to be significant if the 95% confidence interval does not include 0. The mediation model included childhood trauma as the independent variable, sense of meaning in life as the dependent variable, and social support and core self-evaluation as chain mediating variables. The results showed that after the social support and core self-evaluation of junior high school students were included in the regression equation, childhood trauma still had significant negative effects on social support, core self-evaluation and sense of meaning in life; social support had significant positive effects on core self-evaluation and sense of meaning in life; and core self-evaluation had significant positive effects on sense of meaning in life (Table 2 ). Mediation analyses were carried out for the three paths separately. The results showed that the 95% confidence intervals of the three paths do not include 0, indicating that the indirect effects of the three paths are significant. The model is shown in Fig. 2 . The total indirect effects add up to -0.17, accounting for 61.63% of the total effect. The indirect effects of the three mediation paths accounted for 27.54%, 16.17% and 17.91% of the total effects, separately, as shown in Table 3 . These findings suggest that social support and core self-evaluation play chain mediating roles in the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Table 2 Regression analysis of the associations between study variables Variables Social support Core self-evaluation Sense of meaning in life β 95%CI t β 95%CI t β 95%CI t Childhood trauma − .59 [-0.37, -0.33] -35.09*** − .24 [-0.21, -0.15] -12.27*** − .10 [-0.16, -0.05] -3.75*** Social support .45 [0.52, 0.62] 22.94*** .12 [0.12, 0.32] 4.23*** Core self-evaluation .17 [0.17, 0.32] 6.34*** R 2 .36 .44 0.11 F 417.47 442.57 54.60 Each column is a regression model that predicts the criterion at the top of the column. Note *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Table 3 Total effects, direct effects and indirect effects Path Effect size Boot SE Boot CI The Proportion of Effect Size Lower Upper Total effect − .275 .022 − .319 − .231 Direct effect − .106 .028 − .161 − .050 38.37% Total indirect effects − .170 .020 − .210 − .130 61.63% Childhood trauma → Social support → Sense of meaning in life − .076 .020 − .116 − .038 27.54% Childhood trauma → Core self-evaluation → Sense of meaning in life − .045 .008 − .062 − .029 16.17% Childhood trauma → Social support → Core self-evaluation → Sense of meaning in life − .049 .009 − .068 − .033 17.91% Discussion The main findings of this study were that childhood trauma negatively predicted sense of meaning in life among middle school students, whereas social support and core self-evaluation enhanced their sense of meaning in life. Social support and core self-evaluation played mediating roles in the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Additionally, social support and core self-evaluation exerted a chained mediating effect on sense of meaning in life. This study revealed that childhood trauma negatively predicts sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with previous research [ 32 ] and may be related to emotional or cognitive factors. Childhood trauma is associated with alterations in the structure, function, and connectivity of key areas involved in cognition, such as the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, as well as changes in the integrity of the white mass bundle, particularly in the corpus callosum [ 33 ]. In addition, according to hopelessness theory, when individuals are powerless to change a negative event or its unfortunate meaning, they are prone to feelings of diminished hope [ 34 ]. Individuals feel powerless about the negative events that have occurred, so they are prone to fall into a sense of hopelessness and lack motivation to live, which further affects their sense of meaning in life. In addition, traumatic childhood experiences can weaken children's resilience and increase their susceptibility to psychological stress and negative emotions later in life, thereby increasing the risk of a diminished sense of meaning in life [ 35 ]. Moreover, abused individuals often have a higher risk of suicide, suggesting that they are more prone to exhibiting a hopeless cognitive style [ 36 ]. Therefore, parents should properly express their love and concern to minimize the possibility of traumatic experiences for their children. In this way, children can experience a stable and harmonious family atmosphere, which promotes their mental health and improves their quality of life. The results of this study suggest that social support mediates the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life and that social support is positively correlated with junior high school students' sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies [ 37 ]. Childhood trauma may make individuals more susceptible to hostile attributions to interpersonal relationships, which in turn leads to low levels of perceived social support. In turn, low levels of perceived social support can lead to low levels of social support, which may prevent individuals from relieving their inner distress in a timely manner and ultimately lead to a low sense of meaning in life [ 38 ]. However, high levels of social support may alter the path from childhood trauma to a sense of meaning in life. People with high levels of social support tend to have strong relationships with others, and they are able to confide with their friends, which may give them the strength to overcome adverse experiences and enhance their sense of meaning in life [ 39 ]. These findings suggest that a high level of social support is conducive to the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships, which may reduce the negative impact of trauma and enable individuals to develop a positive sense of meaning in life. Our findings demonstrate that core self-evaluation mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life and that core self-evaluation is positively correlated with junior high school students' sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies [ 40 ]. This may be because individuals with a high level of core self-evaluation tend to have a more generous cognitive evaluation of life situations; thus, they are able to face life with a more positive attitude, correctly recognize the value and meaning of life, and gain a stronger sense of meaning in life [ 41 ]. Moreover, childhood trauma can reduce children's self-esteem [ 42 ], which can lead to a negative assessment of their core self-esteem. This negative evaluation may manifest as self-doubt, self-denial, and low self-efficacy, but developing self-efficacy is one way to gain a sense of meaning in life; therefore, a negative core self-evaluation will eventually lead to a low sense of meaning in life. The results of this study revealed that social support and core self-evaluation play chain mediating roles in the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Among them, the intermediary roles of social support and core self-evaluation are not isolated from each other. In contrast, social support and core self-evaluation are intrinsically linked. In this process, first, traumatic childhood experiences cause individuals to have distrust and negative expectations of interpersonal relationships, which in turn affect their prosocial behavior. The specific manifestations are the behaviors of individuals in interpersonal communication, such as retreat and avoidance. These behaviors make it difficult for individuals to establish a stable and healthy interpersonal network, which further exacerbates the lack of their social support network [ 43 ]. The study revealed that self-evaluations among adolescents are more complex than those among children. Their ability to think abstractly allows their self-concept to be influenced by external feedback and social interaction [ 44 ]. The theory of self-determination points out that when the environment cannot provide sufficient support to the individual, the individual's psychological needs cannot be met. The lower the degree of satisfaction of one’s psychological needs is, the lower one’s core self-evaluation is [ 45 ]. Individuals with low self-evaluations pay more attention to unpleasant experiences in life, so they have a negative attitude toward the past and present. In addition, they tend to make negative explanations of events, doubt whether they can cope with the future well, and have a negative attitude toward the future, which ultimately leads to a weak sense of meaning in life [ 46 ]. Strengths and limitations The main strength of this study is that it comprehensively explores the impact of childhood trauma on junior high school students' sense of meaning in life. Childhood trauma not only directly affects junior high school students' sense of meaning in life by weakening children's resilience but also indirectly affects their sense of meaning in life through internal and external factors such as social support and core self-evaluation. The results of this study are helpful for clarifying the context of the internal mechanism of childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Furthermore, these results can help to enrich the relevant research on the factors influencing sense of meaning in life. This study has several limitations. First, this study provides an inference of causality through cross-sectional in-depth research, but to explore causality more deeply, more longitudinal research should be carried out in the future. Second, owing to the limited sample size collected in this study, the representativeness of the sample may be affected to a certain extent, and further expansion of the sample size should be considered in future studies to conduct long-term studies and ensure the applicability of the results. Third, this study does not exclude the influence of family socioeconomic status. Conclusions The results of the present study revealed a negative correlation between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life among junior high school students, which was due to a lack of social support and a reduction in core self-evaluation. These findings call for parents to pay attention to the impact of negative experiences on their children. In addition, educators can provide students with more support, increase their social support networks, and foster positive core self-evaluation. These may be key strategies for enhancing the sense of meaning in life of junior high school students. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Medical College of Shaoguan University (0001,20220710). Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study. Consent for publication Not applicable Availability of data and materials The datasets analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding This research was funded by the Key Construction Discipline Scientific Research Capacity Improvement Project in Guangdong Province of China, grant number 2021ZDJS066. Authors' contributions Suqun Liao conceived and designed the study. Suqun Liao contributed to the background and discussion. Luyao Mo contributed to the data analysis and took the lead in writing the manuscript. Lishen Wang prepared figures1-2. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Acknowledgments The author would like to thank middle school students from 23 high schools for agreeing to participate in this study. Author information Authors and Affiliations College of Education Science, Shaoguan University, China Suqun Liao & Luyao Mo Corresponding authors Correspondence to Suqun Liao. References Eskola, M., Kos, G., Elliott, C. T., Hajšlová, J., Mayar, S., & Krska, R. (2019). Worldwide contamination of food-crops with mycotoxins: Validity of the widely cited ‘FAO estimate’ of 25%. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition , 60(16), 2773–2789. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2019.1658570 Rai, M.K., Bonde, S.R., Ingle, A.P., Gade, A.K. (2012). Mycotoxin: rapid detection, differentiation and safety. 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Food Control , 136, 108835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108835 Liu, H., Liu, Y.D., Li, Q.H., Liu, J., Jirimut, Yili. (2023). Screening and identification of nanobodies against aflatoxin M1. 2023. Food and Fermentation Industries . https://doi.org/ 10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.037218 Cai, C., Liu, Y., Tang, X., Zhang, W., Zhang, Q., & Li, P. (2023, June). Development of a toxin-free competitive immunoassay for aflatoxin M1 based on a nanobody as surrogate calibrator. LWT , 182, 114829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2023.114829 Cai, C., Zhang, Q., Nidiaye, S., Yan, H., Zhang, W., Tang, X., & Li, P. (2021). Development of a specific anti-idiotypic nanobody for monitoring aflatoxin M1 in milk and dairy products. Microchemical Journal , 167, 106326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2021.106326 GB5009.24-2016. National food safety standard determination of M-group aflatoxins in foods. National Standards of the People’s Republic of China. Li, G., Liu, C., Zhang, X., Luo, P., Lin, G., & Jiang, W. (2021). Highly photoluminescent carbon dots-based immunosensors for ultrasensitive detection of aflatoxin M1 residues in milk. Food Chemistry , 355, 129443–129443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129443 Achour, I., Cavelier, P., Tichit, M., Bouchier, C., Lafaye, P., & Rougeon, F. (2008). Tetrameric and Homodimeric Camelid IgGs Originate from the Same IgH Locus. The Journal of Immunology , 181(3), 2001–2009. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.181.3.2001 Vattekatte, A. M., Shinada, N. K., Narwani, T. J., Noël, F., Bertrand, O., Meyniel, J. P., Malpertuy, A., Gelly, J. C., Cadet, F., & De Brevern, A. G. (2020). Discrete analysis of camelid variable domains: sequences, structures, and in-silico structure prediction. PeerJ , 8, e8408. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8408 Goldman, E. R., Liu, J. L., Zabetakis, D., & Anderson, G. P. (2017). Enhancing Stability of Camelid and Shark Single Domain Antibodies: An Overview. Frontiers in Immunology , 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00865 Kunz, P., Ortale, A., Mücke, N., Zinner, K., & Hoheisel, J. D. (2019). Nanobody stability engineering by employing the ΔTm shift; a comparison with apparent rate constants of heat-induced aggregation. Protein Engineering, Design and Selection . https://doi.org/10.1093/protein/gzz017 Akazawa-Ogawa, Y., Uegaki, K., & Hagihara, Y. (2015). The role of intra-domain disulfide bonds in heat-induced irreversible denaturation of camelid single domain VHH antibodies. Journal of Biochemistry , 159(1), 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/jb/mvv082 Kunz, P., Zinner, K., Mücke, N., Bartoschik, T., Muyldermans, S., & Hoheisel, J. D. (2018). The structural basis of nanobody unfolding reversibility and thermoresistance. Scientific Reports , 8(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-26338-z Kunz, P., Flock, T., Soler, N., Zaiss, M., Vincke, C., Sterckx, Y., Kastelic, D., Muyldermans, S., & Hoheisel, J. D. (2017). Exploiting sequence and stability information for directing nanobody stability engineering. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects , 1861(9), 2196–2205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagen.2017.06.014 Bekker, G., Ma, B., & Kamiya, N. (2018). Thermal stability of single‐domain antibodies estimated by molecular dynamics simulations. Protein Science , 28(2), 429–438. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.3546 Ikai, A. (1980). Thermostability and Aliphatic Index of Globular Proteins. The Japanese Biochemical Society . https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biochemistry192288/6/88_6_1895/_article Sun, Z., Wang, X., Chen, Q., Yun, Y., Tang, Z., & Liu, X. (2018). Nanobody-Alkaline Phosphatase Fusion Protein-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for One-Step Detection of Ochratoxin A in Rice. Sensors , 18(11), 4044. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18114044 Huber, D., Rudolf, J., Ansari, P., Galler, B., Führer, M., Hasenhindl, C., & Baumgartner, S. (2009). Effectiveness of natural and synthetic blocking reagents and their application for detecting food allergens in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry , 394(2), 539–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-2698-8 Rahimirad, A., Maalekinejad, H., Ostadi, A., Yeganeh, S., Fahimi, S. (2014). Aflatoxin M1 Concentration in Various Dairy Products: Evidence for Biologically Reduced Amount of AFM1 in Yoghurt. Iranian Journal of Public Health , 43(8):1139-44. PMID: 25927044; PMCID: PMC4411911. Mukunzi, D., Tochi, B. N., Isanga, J., Liu, L., Kuang, H., & Xu, C. (2016). Development of an immunochromatographic assay for hexestrol and diethylstilbestrol residues in milk. Food and Agricultural Immunolog y, 27(6), 855–869. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540105.2016.1183601 Zhang, C., Zhang, W., Tang, X., Zhang, Q., Zhang, W., & Li, P. (2020). Change of Amino Acid Residues in Idiotypic Nanobodies Enhanced the Sensitivity of Competitive Enzyme Immunoassay for Mycotoxin Ochratoxin A in Cereals. Toxins , 12(4), 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12040273 Liu, X., Tang, Z., Duan, Z., He, Z., Shu, M., Wang, X., Gee, S. J., Hammock, B. D., & Xu, Y. (2017, March). Nanobody-based enzyme immunoassay for ochratoxin A in cereal with high resistance to matrix interference. Talanta , 164, 154–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2016.11.039 Peltomaa, R., Barderas, R., Benito-Peña, E., & Moreno-Bondi, M. C. (2021, August 21). Recombinant antibodies and their use for food immunoanalysis. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry , 414(1), 193–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03619-7 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 22 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Psychology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Jul, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Jul, 2024 First submitted to journal 19 Jul, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4769181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":330584627,"identity":"4a70ef96-9852-46bd-8480-56d453601277","order_by":0,"name":"Suqun Liao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shaoguan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suqun","middleName":"","lastName":"Liao","suffix":""},{"id":330584628,"identity":"f02efa59-57c2-4c4e-baaf-10722b2fefc5","order_by":1,"name":"Luyao Mo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shaoguan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luyao","middleName":"","lastName":"Mo","suffix":""},{"id":330584629,"identity":"6a626059-bd1b-4d01-a85d-40d77660f7ce","order_by":2,"name":"Lishen Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACeWb+7z8k/0jIsbE3EKnFsL3BQMKywcaYj+cAsdacOWAgUdmQlignkUCkDsYZCQkGN3ccTmCTfLzxBkONTTRBLewSCQcSZ545nMcmnVZswXAsLbeBsC2JDYcl2A4Xs0nnmEkwNhwmrIXhRjJj8x+2w4ltkmeI1XLmGDODZFtaYpsED5FaDNt72BgkztgYs/EA/ZJAjF/kmXmAWiok5OTbD2+88aHGhgiHIQEDoqMGSQupOkbBKBgFo2BkAADSFT07foUfDwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Shaoguan University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lishen","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-19 18:31:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4769181/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4769181/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02746-5","type":"published","date":"2025-04-22T15:57:30+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":62819586,"identity":"e05b3c91-02b3-479e-9703-82e172e45f31","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-19 23:58:42","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":22391,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe proposed theoretical model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4769181/v1/afff65132e41af6c42f96b47.png"},{"id":62819585,"identity":"372f3c19-15d4-40ee-92c0-b620cf4904bc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-08-19 23:58:41","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":52021,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMediation model showing the associations among the study variables\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4769181/v1/c804ac1ed8052d1ad66f1c72.png"},{"id":81569827,"identity":"df04467d-2b13-446c-b248-0ff9f3397c1e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-28 16:11:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1015895,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4769181/v1/dc158968-5a5b-421e-a295-3c68d1f31b9a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Sense of Meaning in Life among Middle School Students: The Chain Mediating Roles of Social Support and Core Self-Evaluation","fulltext":[{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eChildhood trauma refers to single or multiple forms of abuse and neglect experienced by individuals during childhood [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e], such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, or emotional neglect. In recent years, childhood trauma has gradually become a global problem. A survey by the World Health Organization revealed that more than one-third of the population has experienced childhood trauma. Childhood trauma may be the cause of mental disorders in 28.9% of patients, and it impacts physical and mental health throughout the entire life course [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals who experience childhood trauma may experience negative psychological reactions such as fear, anxiety, and depression [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. If these reactions are not properly addressed, individuals may develop mental disorders in adolescence [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e] and even exhibit extreme behaviors such as self-injury and suicide [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. However, the specific mechanism underlying the impact of childhood trauma has yet be fully elucidated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChildhood Trauma and Sense of Meaning in Life among Junior High School Students\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to social ecology theory, the formation and development of individual cognition, attitudes, and habitual behavior are all nested in micro-, meso-, and macroenvironmental systems that interact with each other, and the life events and experiences of individuals interact with the environment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. The life development model indicates that the early growth environment affects an individual's psychological and behavioral development patterns [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. When individuals who have experienced childhood trauma encounter negative events, they exhibit more negative behaviors and psychological problems than do individuals who have not experienced trauma [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e] and have a lower sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. The sense of meaning in life is defined as an individual's understanding and feeling of the meaning and value of life itself [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Sense of meaning in life is an important preventive factor against self-injury and suicide among adolescents [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals with a greater sense of meaning in life are healthier psychologically [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e], while lower levels of sense of meaning in life may lead to negative emotions such as depression and anxiety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Interventions that influence an individual's sense of meaning in life may be useful for reducing an individual's risk of suicide [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e] and improving an individual's positive emotions and psychological qualities [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 1: Childhood trauma negatively predicts the sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Mediating Role of Social Support\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support refers to the external resources available to individuals who are experiencing stress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e], including material and spiritual support such as family, school, peers, and society. Experiencing trauma may change an individual's perception of the environment. For example, abused children who grow up in dysfunctional families may not feel the support of their families [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e], but good social support can reduce the negative effects of childhood trauma [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]. After children who experience trauma perceive social support from peers, parents, etc., they gain a greater sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 2: social support plays an intermediary role in the association between childhood trauma and a sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe Mediating Role of Core Self-evaluation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCore self-evaluation refers to the most basic evaluation of an individual's value and ability [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Core self-evaluation is an important part of an individual's self-perception and is a deep-seated personality resource structure that includes four psychological traits, such as self-esteem and general self-efficacy. Individuals who have experienced childhood trauma tend to think repeatedly about the negative stimuli associated with the traumatic event, resulting in a negative cognitive response style and a negative core self-evaluation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals with a high level of negative self-evaluation excessively and negatively interpret adverse events in their lives, resulting in negative emotions such as pain, which is not conducive to the acquisition of a sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Interventions impacting the core self-evaluation of college students can significantly enhance their sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 3: core self-evaluation plays an intermediary role in the association between childhood trauma and the sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Chain Mediating Roles of Social Support and Core Self-Evaluation\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe strong correlation between social support and core self-evaluation has been confirmed by multiple studies. The self-system model posits [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] that if the perceived social environment is more supportive, an individual's needs in terms of ability, sense of belonging, etc., will be better met, and therefore, the person will be more effective in facing external challenges and will have a greater self-evaluation. Childhood is a critical period for the formation of individual self-cognition. Children gradually develop self-concepts and cognitions in the interpersonal interactions of the surrounding society [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e], and the higher the degree of active interpersonal interaction is, the greater the child's core self-evaluation is [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies have also shown that perceptive social support significantly improves junior high school students' sense of meaning in life and that self-esteem fully mediates this relationship [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, this study proposes Hypothesis 4: social support and core self-evaluation are chain mediators of the association between childhood trauma and a sense of meaning in life. The research model is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis cross-sectional study included junior high school students (grades 7 to 9) from 23 middle school in South China. The students were recruited using holistic and convenience sampling. The researchers use a unified instructional language to provide uniform instructions to participants. Questionnaires were completed anonymously, and the participants were asked to complete the questionnaire carefully and independently. A total of 2273 valid questionnaires were obtained. Among the 2,273 participants, 1,131 were girls, and 1,142 were boys.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeasures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMeaning of Life Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Meaning of Life Scale, which was revised by Liu Sisi et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e], includes 9 questions across two dimensions: sense of meaning of life and sense of seeking meaning. Each item is scored on a scale ranging from 1 (\"completely inconsistent\") to 7 (\"completely consistent\"). Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.88.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eChildhood Trauma Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Childhood Trauma Scale, which was revised by Bernstein [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] includes 28 items across 5 dimensions: physical neglect, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse. Higher total scores indicate more severe childhood trauma. Moderately severe childhood trauma was indicated by the following scores on the individual dimensions: emotional abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;13, physical abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;10, sexual abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;8, emotional neglect\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;15, physical neglect\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;10. A lack of childhood trauma was indicated by the following scores on the individual dimensions: emotional abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;13, physical abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;10, sexual abuse\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;8, emotional neglect\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;15, and physical neglect\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;10. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.81.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocial Support Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Social Support Scale, which was developed by Xiao Shuiyuan [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e], includes 10 items across three dimensions: subjective support, objective support and utilization of support. Items 1\u0026ndash;5 and items 8\u0026ndash;10 are scored on a scale ranging from 1 to 4 points. Items 6 and 7 assess the number of sources of social support. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.87.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCore Self-evaluation Scale\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Core Self-evaluation Scale, which was revised by Du Jianzheng et al [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e], includes 10 items. Each item is scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (\"completely disagree\") to 5 (\"completely agree\"). Higher scores indicate greater core self-evaluations. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.83.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe PROCESS program developed by SPSS 27.0 and Hayes (2013) was used for data analysis. First, descriptive analysis was performed via SPSS 27.0 to accurately characterize the sample. Second, Pearson\u0026rsquo; correlation analysis was conducted to quantify the associations between childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support, and core self-evaluation. Finally, SPSS macro model 6 was used to quantitatively examine the chain mediating effects of social support and core self-evaluation. Statistical significance was indicated by a p-value of 0.05. Bootstrapping was conducted with 5000 samples and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCommon Method Bias\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, Harman\u0026rsquo;s single factor test was conducted to analyze common method bias. The results revealed that the maximum interpretation percentage was much lower than the standard value of 40%, and there was no factor with excessive interpretation power, indicating that there was no serious common method bias problem.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe correlations between childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support and core self-evaluation are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. Childhood trauma was negatively correlated with sense of meaning in life (r=-0.254, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), core self-evaluation (r=-0.514, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and social support (r=-0.595, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Sense of meaning in life was positively correlated with core self-evaluation (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.282, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and social support (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.275, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Social support was positively correlated with core self-evaluation (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.605, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics and correlations among variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Childhood trauma\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51.19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Sense of meaning in life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.254***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Social support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.595***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.275***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Core self-evaluation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.514***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.282***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.605***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"7\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote: *p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, **p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThe relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life: chain mediation analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing the SPSS plug-in PROCESS model 6 developed by Hayes, bootstrapping was performed with 5000 samples. A mediation effect is considered to be significant if the 95% confidence interval does not include 0. The mediation model included childhood trauma as the independent variable, sense of meaning in life as the dependent variable, and social support and core self-evaluation as chain mediating variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results showed that after the social support and core self-evaluation of junior high school students were included in the regression equation, childhood trauma still had significant negative effects on social support, core self-evaluation and sense of meaning in life; social support had significant positive effects on core self-evaluation and sense of meaning in life; and core self-evaluation had significant positive effects on sense of meaning in life (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Mediation analyses were carried out for the three paths separately. The results showed that the 95% confidence intervals of the three paths do not include 0, indicating that the indirect effects of the three paths are significant. The model is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. The total indirect effects add up to -0.17, accounting for 61.63% of the total effect. The indirect effects of the three mediation paths accounted for 27.54%, 16.17% and 17.91% of the total effects, separately, as shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. These findings suggest that social support and core self-evaluation play chain mediating roles in the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegression analysis of the associations between study variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"12\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c12\" colnum=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCore self-evaluation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSense of meaning in life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChildhood trauma\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[-0.37, -0.33]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-35.09***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[-0.21, -0.15]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-12.27***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[-0.16, -0.05]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.75***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.52, 0.62]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.94***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.12, 0.32]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.23***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCore self-evaluation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e[0.17, 0.32]\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c12\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.34***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e417.47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c8\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e442.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c12\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54.60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eEach column is a regression model that predicts the criterion at the top of the column.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003e*p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, **p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, ***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal effects, direct effects and indirect effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePath\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot SE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoot CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Proportion of Effect Size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLower\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.275\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.319\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.231\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.106\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.028\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.161\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.050\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.37%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal indirect effects\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.170\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.210\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.130\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.63%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChildhood trauma \u0026rarr; Social support \u0026rarr; Sense of meaning in life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.076\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.116\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.54%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChildhood trauma \u0026rarr; Core self-evaluation \u0026rarr; Sense of meaning in life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.062\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.029\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.17%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChildhood trauma \u0026rarr; Social support \u0026rarr; Core self-evaluation \u0026rarr; Sense of meaning in life\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.068\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.91%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe main findings of this study were that childhood trauma negatively predicted sense of meaning in life among middle school students, whereas social support and core self-evaluation enhanced their sense of meaning in life. Social support and core self-evaluation played mediating roles in the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Additionally, social support and core self-evaluation exerted a chained mediating effect on sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study revealed that childhood trauma negatively predicts sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with previous research [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e] and may be related to emotional or cognitive factors. Childhood trauma is associated with alterations in the structure, function, and connectivity of key areas involved in cognition, such as the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, as well as changes in the integrity of the white mass bundle, particularly in the corpus callosum [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e]. In addition, according to hopelessness theory, when individuals are powerless to change a negative event or its unfortunate meaning, they are prone to feelings of diminished hope [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals feel powerless about the negative events that have occurred, so they are prone to fall into a sense of hopelessness and lack motivation to live, which further affects their sense of meaning in life. In addition, traumatic childhood experiences can weaken children's resilience and increase their susceptibility to psychological stress and negative emotions later in life, thereby increasing the risk of a diminished sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, abused individuals often have a higher risk of suicide, suggesting that they are more prone to exhibiting a hopeless cognitive style [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, parents should properly express their love and concern to minimize the possibility of traumatic experiences for their children. In this way, children can experience a stable and harmonious family atmosphere, which promotes their mental health and improves their quality of life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of this study suggest that social support mediates the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life and that social support is positively correlated with junior high school students' sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e]. Childhood trauma may make individuals more susceptible to hostile attributions to interpersonal relationships, which in turn leads to low levels of perceived social support. In turn, low levels of perceived social support can lead to low levels of social support, which may prevent individuals from relieving their inner distress in a timely manner and ultimately lead to a low sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. However, high levels of social support may alter the path from childhood trauma to a sense of meaning in life. People with high levels of social support tend to have strong relationships with others, and they are able to confide with their friends, which may give them the strength to overcome adverse experiences and enhance their sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e]. These findings suggest that a high level of social support is conducive to the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships, which may reduce the negative impact of trauma and enable individuals to develop a positive sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur findings demonstrate that core self-evaluation mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life and that core self-evaluation is positively correlated with junior high school students' sense of meaning in life, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e]. This may be because individuals with a high level of core self-evaluation tend to have a more generous cognitive evaluation of life situations; thus, they are able to face life with a more positive attitude, correctly recognize the value and meaning of life, and gain a stronger sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, childhood trauma can reduce children's self-esteem [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e], which can lead to a negative assessment of their core self-esteem. This negative evaluation may manifest as self-doubt, self-denial, and low self-efficacy, but developing self-efficacy is one way to gain a sense of meaning in life; therefore, a negative core self-evaluation will eventually lead to a low sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of this study revealed that social support and core self-evaluation play chain mediating roles in the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Among them, the intermediary roles of social support and core self-evaluation are not isolated from each other. In contrast, social support and core self-evaluation are intrinsically linked. In this process, first, traumatic childhood experiences cause individuals to have distrust and negative expectations of interpersonal relationships, which in turn affect their prosocial behavior. The specific manifestations are the behaviors of individuals in interpersonal communication, such as retreat and avoidance. These behaviors make it difficult for individuals to establish a stable and healthy interpersonal network, which further exacerbates the lack of their social support network [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e]. The study revealed that self-evaluations among adolescents are more complex than those among children. Their ability to think abstractly allows their self-concept to be influenced by external feedback and social interaction [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e]. The theory of self-determination points out that when the environment cannot provide sufficient support to the individual, the individual's psychological needs cannot be met. The lower the degree of satisfaction of one\u0026rsquo;s psychological needs is, the lower one\u0026rsquo;s core self-evaluation is [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals with low self-evaluations pay more attention to unpleasant experiences in life, so they have a negative attitude toward the past and present. In addition, they tend to make negative explanations of events, doubt whether they can cope with the future well, and have a negative attitude toward the future, which ultimately leads to a weak sense of meaning in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStrengths and limitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe main strength of this study is that it comprehensively explores the impact of childhood trauma on junior high school students' sense of meaning in life. Childhood trauma not only directly affects junior high school students' sense of meaning in life by weakening children's resilience but also indirectly affects their sense of meaning in life through internal and external factors such as social support and core self-evaluation. The results of this study are helpful for clarifying the context of the internal mechanism of childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life. Furthermore, these results can help to enrich the relevant research on the factors influencing sense of meaning in life.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study has several limitations. First, this study provides an inference of causality through cross-sectional in-depth research, but to explore causality more deeply, more longitudinal research should be carried out in the future. Second, owing to the limited sample size collected in this study, the representativeness of the sample may be affected to a certain extent, and further expansion of the sample size should be considered in future studies to conduct long-term studies and ensure the applicability of the results. Third, this study does not exclude the influence of family socioeconomic status.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results of the present study revealed a negative correlation between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life among junior high school students, which was due to a lack of social support and a reduction in core self-evaluation. These findings call for parents to pay attention to the impact of negative experiences on their children. In addition, educators can provide students with more support, increase their social support networks, and foster positive core self-evaluation. These may be key strategies for enhancing the sense of meaning in life of junior high school students.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Medical College of Shaoguan University (0001,20220710).\u0026nbsp;Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot\u0026nbsp;applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe\u0026nbsp;authors\u0026nbsp;declare\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;they\u0026nbsp;have\u0026nbsp;no\u0026nbsp;competing\u0026nbsp;interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research was funded by the Key Construction Discipline Scientific Research Capacity Improvement Project in Guangdong Province of China, grant number 2021ZDJS066.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuqun Liao conceived and designed the study. Suqun Liao contributed to the background and\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003ediscussion. Luyao Mo contributed to the data analysis and took the lead in writing the manuscript. Lishen Wang prepared figures1-2. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author would like to thank middle school students from 23 high schools for agreeing to participate in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor information\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors and Affiliations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCollege of Education Science, Shaoguan University, China\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuqun Liao \u0026amp; Luyao Mo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorresponding authors\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence to Suqun Liao.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEskola, M., Kos, G., Elliott, C. T., Haj\u0026scaron;lov\u0026aacute;, J., Mayar, S., \u0026amp; Krska, R. (2019). 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Recombinant antibodies and their use for food immunoanalysis. \u003cem\u003eAnalytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry\u003c/em\u003e, 414(1), 193\u0026ndash;217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03619-7\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Childhood trauma, Sense of meaning in life, Social support, Core self-evaluation, Chain intermediary","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4769181/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4769181/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eThe adverse effects of childhood trauma on the sense of meaning in life among middle school students have received widespread attention. Previous research has focused mainly on the direct connection between the two factors; however, little is known about the potential mediators of this relationship. To address this gap, the present study constructed a chain mediation model to examine whether social support and core self-evaluation mediate the association between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life among middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eA total of 2273 middle school students completed a self-report questionnaire about their childhood trauma, sense of meaning in life, social support, and core self-evaluation. The data were collected from students at 23 middle schools in South China. Statistical analysis was conducted via SPSS 27.0 and SPSS PROCESS.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eThe results indicated that (1) the direct effect of childhood trauma on the sense of meaning in life among middle school students was significant, and (2) social support and core self-evaluation significantly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and sense of meaning in life via three mediating pathways: the individual mediating role of social support, the individual mediating role of core self-evaluation, and the chain mediating roles of social support and core self-evaluation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions: \u003c/strong\u003eOur findings indicate that mitigating the negative impact of childhood trauma, increasing the strength of social support networks, and cultivating positive core self-evaluation may be key strategies for enhancing the sense of meaning in life among middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Sense of Meaning in Life among Middle School Students: The Chain Mediating Roles of Social Support and Core Self-Evaluation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-08-19 23:58:36","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4769181/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-07-23T08:15:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-07-22T06:52:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-07-22T06:50:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2024-07-19T18:29:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"103f4ba2-0f10-43ef-bd9d-2702f0319663","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 19th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-28T16:05:24+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4769181","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02746-5","journal":{"identity":"bmc-psychology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Psychology"},"publishedOn":"2025-04-22 15:57:30","publishedOnDateReadable":"April 22nd, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-08-19 23:58:36","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s40359-025-02746-5","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02746-5","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4769181","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4769181","identity":"rs-4769181","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}