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Abstract
It was suggested that individuals who experience a stressful childhood may have learned from these experiences and developed a greater ability to cope with stress as adults; this ability is independent of general self-esteem. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a Childhood Traumatic Events Scale, the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale and a Stressful Events Questionnaire were completed by 64 participants. Comparing those who had traumatic childhood experiences with those who had not, the results showed no significant group differences for the Coping Scores. Those with traumatic childhoods had significantly lower self-esteem, and had experienced higher (but not significantly different) levels of stress during past week and also in general during past three months. It was concluded that childhood traumatic experiences have little or no observable influence on how adults cope with or respond to stressful events.
Department
Psychology
Faculty Advisor
Ian Madfes, Ph.D.
Publication Date
Spring 2017
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
Scholarly & Creative Works Conference, Dominican University of California
City
San Rafael, CA
Keywords
Stress, Coping Strategies
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences