Childhood trauma and psychological symptoms in young adults: examining the mediating role of vulnerable narcissism and the moderating role of psychological resilience

Abstract

Introduction Childhood trauma is consistently associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, yet the self-related processes and adaptive resources relevant to these associations remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether vulnerable narcissism statistically mediated the associations between childhood trauma and these three symptom domains and whether psychological resilience moderated the associations between vulnerable narcissism and these symptoms. Methods A cross-sectional convenience sample of 571 young adults aged 18–30 years was recruited online from Türkiye. Of the participants, 76.7% were women, and the sample largely comprised individuals engaged in university education. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-33, the eight-item Vulnerable Narcissism Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Regression-based mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using 5,000 bootstrap samples and heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors. Results Childhood trauma and vulnerable narcissism were positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, whereas psychological resilience was negatively associated with all three symptom domains. The indirect associations between childhood trauma and depression, anxiety, and stress through vulnerable narcissism were statistically significant, while the corresponding direct associations remained significant. However, psychological resilience did not moderate the associations between vulnerable narcissism and any of the three symptom domains or the indirect associations through vulnerable narcissism. Discussion The findings support partial statistical mediation through vulnerable narcissism within the specified model but do not establish a temporal, developmental, or causal sequence. Psychological resilience was independently associated with lower symptom levels but did not function as a moderator in the proposed model.