Is the development of personality beliefs associated with levels of childhood traumas and emotional intelligence? A prospective cross-sectional analysis

Personality disorders (PD) are associated with personality beliefs (PBs). Childhood traumas (CTs) and emotional intelligence (EI) are effective in the development of PDs. However, the relationships between CTs and EI and PBs are not well known. This study examined the effects of CTs and EI on PBs. Three hundred and eighty-seven university students who applied to the psychiatry clinic and did not receive any psychiatric diagnosis according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria were recruited for the study. We applied the Childhood Trauma Scale, BarOn Emotional Intelligence Scale, and Personality Beliefs Questionnaire-Short Form to the volunteers. According to scores from the childhood trauma subscale scores, the participants divided into two groups: those with childhood trauma (CT (+), n = 180) and those without childhood trauma (CT (-), n = 207). The results will be evaluated with the SPSS ver. 22.0 program. EI and PB levels were higher in CT (+) than in CT (-). We found positive and significant relationships between the participants’ CT, EI, and PB levels. In all participants and also in CT (+), total levels of CTs and EI predicted paranoid, schizoid, antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, dependent, avoidant, and passive-aggressive PBs other than obsessive-compulsive PBs. The subtypes of childhood trauma did not predict PBs in CT (+), while the EI-stress management subscale was linked to borderline, histrionic, avoidant, and passive-aggressive PBs, and the adaptability subscale was linked to dependent PBs. This research provides important contributions regarding how CTs and EI affect PBs. Given the significant impact of CT on PBs, early intervention programs should focus on promoting personality belief relationships in children who have experienced trauma. Mental health professionals and psychotherapists should integrate EI-based and emotion-focused interventions when working with individuals with trauma histories. Therapy approaches such as dialectical behavior therapy and trauma-informed cognitive-behavioral therapy may be useful in both improving EI and relational functioning in trauma survivors. This study is registered on Clinical Trials.gov (ID: 06/05/2023- NCT05847335).