The relationship between childhood traumas and psychological states of university students

Aim: The primary aim of the study is to examine the prevalence of childhood trauma among university students and to assess its associations with demographic variables, psychological symptoms, alexithymia, and psychological resilience. Material and method: The population of the study consists of students enrolled at İnönü University. The sample includes 658 students from İnönü University. Data were collected using a personal information form prepared by the researcher based on a literature review, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the Psychological Resilience Scale for Adults (PRSA). For statistical analyses, the chi-square test was used to assess relationships between categorical variables, the Pearson correlation test was used for relationships between continuous variables, and independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were employed to evaluate differences in continuous variables between groups." Results: Exposure to childhood trauma was found in 40.7% of the participants, with emotional neglect and physical abuse being the most frequently reported types of maltreatment. Participants with lower socioeconomic status reported higher levels of childhood trauma. Similarly, those with lower academic achievement also reported higher exposure to childhood trauma. Male participants scored higher than females on the physical neglect subscale. Participants with a psychiatric diagnosis, a history of suicide attempts, or suicidal ideation reported higher levels of childhood trauma, greater psychological symptoms and alexithymia, and lower levels of psychological resilience. A positive correlation was found between childhood trauma and both psychological symptoms and alexithymia, while a negative correlation was observed between childhood trauma and psychological resilience. Conclusion: Participants who experienced childhood trauma were found to have lower levels of psychological resilience and higher levels of psychological symptoms. Key Words: Alexithymia, Childhood Trauma, Psychological Resilience.