The Impact Of Childhood Traumatic Experiences On Psychotic-Like Experiences Of Vocational School Students:A Moderated Mediation Model

Identifying individuals at high risk for mental disorders has been a longstanding research topic in the field of psychiatry,as early identification is crucial for improving treatment outcomes.Psychotic-like experiences(PLEs)refer to experiences similar to the positive symptoms of psychosis found in clinical populations,occurring in the general population,suggesting that these symptoms are not limited to individuals with mental disorders.Mental health issues among vocational school students have become a topic of concern in recent years,with persistent PLEs posing a risk for the development of mental disorders.Childhood trauma is closely related to PLEs,and early adversity can impact mental health through self-schemas.Self-schemas are not fixed structures and can be positively influenced by guiding individuals to integrate positive events into their core beliefs,thus fostering positive self-schemas.This study connects individuals’ past experiences,cognitive patterns,and mental health to examine the occurrence and development of PLEs in vocational school students.Based on schema theory and career construction theory,the study uses the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire,Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences Positive Scale,Brief Core Schema Scale,and Career Adaptability Scale to measure childhood trauma,PLEs,self-schemas,and career adaptability among vocational school students.The study aims to explore the relationships and mechanisms among these variables to provide new theoretical perspectives for career education,promoting students’ comprehensive health development,and preventing mental disorders.The results indicate:1.The reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire,Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences Positive Scale,Brief Core Schema Scale,and Career Adaptability Scale are good and suitable for this study.2.Significant differences in childhood trauma experiences among vocational school students were found based on gender,residence,single-parent status,only child status,and duration of parental absence.Female students experienced more childhood trauma than male students;students from rural areas experienced more trauma than urban students;single-parent students experienced more trauma than those from nonsingle-parent families;non-only children experienced more trauma than only children;students with longer parental absence experienced more trauma than those with shorter parental absence.3.The detection rate of PLEs among vocational school students was 89.04%,with a frequent occurrence rate of 48.57%.Significant differences in PLEs were found based on gender,grade,and single-parent status.Female students had a higher frequency of PLEs than male students;higher-grade students had a higher frequency of PLEs than lower-grade students;single-parent students had a higher frequency of PLEs than nonsingle-parent students.4.Significant differences in negative self-schemas were found based on singleparent status and duration of parental absence.Single-parent students had higher negative self-schema scores than non-single-parent students;students with longer parental absence had higher negative self-schema scores than those with shorter parental absence.5.Childhood trauma experiences were significantly positively correlated with negative self-schemas and PLEs among vocational school students.Negative self-schemas were significantly positively correlated with PLEs.Childhood trauma experiences,negative self-schemas,and career adaptability significantly predicted PLEs among vocational school students.Negative self-schemas mediated the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and PLEs among vocational school students.Career adaptability moderated the first half of the mediation model,specifically the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and negative self-schemas.