Resiliency as a Protective Factor Against the Negative Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Suicidality

Abstract Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide risk is higher among those who have experienced more adverse childhood events (ACEs). Yet the impact of ACEs on suicide risk could potentially be buffered by individual-level psychological characteristics. The purpose of this study was to test whether resiliency moderated the association between ACEs and suicide attempts. Using prospective data from a large, nationally representative sample of 8,671 respondents surveyed over 30 years, we found that although each additional ACE increased the odds for making a suicide attempt by 56%, these odds were significantly lower when resilience was high. Post hoc probing of the significant interaction term indicated that when ACEs were high, but resiliency was low, the probability that a participant had made a suicide attempt was 4.4%, compared to 1.6% when ACEs were high, but resiliency was also high. Our findings on the importance of resiliency in promoting mental health indicate the need for programs designed to promote resiliency across different settings.