The relationship between childhood trauma, personality, and subjective well-being in early and late adolescence: a network analysis

Childhood trauma is strongly associated with impaired subjective well-being (SWB) in adolescence. However, the underlying mechanisms, particularly how they differ across specific developmental stages, remain inadequately explored. Based on the stress process model, childhood trauma may shape adolescent SWB by influencing the development of personal resources, such as personality traits and self-esteem. This study used network analysis to investigate the relationships among these factors based on the stress process model and compared the network model differences between early and late adolescents. A total of 2,620 adolescents aged 12–18 participated in the study. The results showed that neuroticism and self-esteem exhibited consistently strong connections with SWB across age groups within the network models. Emotional abuse and emotional neglect were consistently negatively connected to positive personal resources such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and self-esteem across all age groups, while emotional abuse was strongly positively connected to negative personal resources like neuroticism, which in turn were linked to adolescents’ SWB. Additionally, the associations between personality traits and SWB differed by developmental stage. Specifically, early adolescents exhibited a stronger connection between extraversion and SWB, while late adolescents showed a stronger connection between agreeableness and SWB. Early adolescents also displayed a weaker connection between openness and self-esteem compared to late adolescents, indicating that differences in the relationships among personality traits across developmental stages may be important factors influencing SWB. This study provides valuable insights into the developmental stage-specific mechanisms linking childhood trauma, personality traits, and subjective well-being, offering a foundation for age-tailored interventions to enhance adolescent mental health.