The relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and ontological well-being of university students: The mediating role of psychological flexibility

Adverse childhood experiences are a global health problem that can negatively impact individuals in adulthood. While the negative effects of these experiences extending into adulthood are well known, their impact on existential relationships and ways of giving meaning to life is less well-known. In this context, psychological flexibility is considered to play a key mediating role in the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and ontological well-being. This study aimed to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and ontological well-being in university students and the mediating role of psychological flexibility in this relationship. The study was conducted with a sample of 534 young adult university students (female 47.8%, male 52.2%). Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationships between variables, and Model 4 bootstrap analysis, generated with 5,000 resamples, was used to analyze the mediating effect. Mediation analyses revealed that psychological flexibility played a full mediating role in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and ontological well-being. The findings indicated that psychological flexibility may serve as a critical mechanism in reducing the impact of adverse childhood experiences on individuals’ existential well‑being.