Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults

Lu Jin; Junhao Chen; Qi Lu HUANG; Hongxing Hu; Peijuan Wang; Yujie FENG; Ying Han; Xinyu He; Fei Liang; Lilan Zhao; Ying Wang; Jinyu Han; Haisu Wu; Qi Yan; Yuelong Ji; Qizhong Yi; Qinyu lv; Zhenghui Yi

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults

Lu Jin (Co-first Author)
, Junhao Chen (Co-first Author)
, Qi Lu HUANG
, Hongxing Hu
, Peijuan Wang
, Yujie FENG
, Ying Han
, Xinyu He
, Fei Liang
, Lilan Zhao
, Ying Wang
, Jinyu Han
, Haisu Wu
, Qi Yan
, Yuelong Ji^*
, Qizhong Yi^*
, Qinyu lv^*
, Zhenghui Yi^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Background: Childhood experiences significantly influence psychological development, yet how combined patterns of parental bonding and childhood trauma affect adult coping strategies remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify distinct profiles based on parental bonding and trauma experiences among Chinese clinical outpatients and examine their relationship with adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviours.
Methods: A latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed on data from 1074 clinical outpatients (aged 18–25) recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Shanghai, China. Profiles were generated based on scores from the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Associations between identified profiles and coping strategies, assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), were evaluated using the BCH method.
Findings: Three distinct profiles emerged: Secure-Adjusted (high parental care, low trauma; n = 564, 42 %), Ambivalent-Strained (moderate parental care, high parental control; n = 446, 52 %), and Disorganized-Adversity (low parental care, severe trauma; n = 65, 6.0 %). Secure-Adjusted individuals displayed the highest use of adaptive coping strategies and the lowest negative coping. In contrast, the Disorganized-Adversity group exhibited significantly higher reliance on negative coping. Ambivalent-Strained participants showed intermediate adaptive coping levels but did not significantly differ from Secure-Adjusted in maladaptive coping.
Interpretation: Distinct profiles based on parental bonding and childhood trauma associated with differing coping strategies in adulthood. These findings underscore the critical impact of relational experiences on coping mechanisms, emphasizing the necessity for targeted psychological interventions addressing both familial dynamics and trauma history to enhance emotional resilience among vulnerable populations.
© 2025 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Original language	English
Article number	120310
Journal	Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume	393
Issue number	Part A
Online published	9 Sept 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310
Publication status	Published - 15 Jan 2026

Funding

This work was supported by multiple grants: STI 2030-Major Projects+2022ZD0208500; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2024GDND02); Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan Natural Science Fund Project (21ZR1455400); Shanghai Jiaotong University “Jiaotong University Star” Program Medical-Industrial Crossover Research Fund Project (YG2019QNB07); Elderly Health Project of the Health Commission of Jiangsu Province, China (LKM2022062); Health Commission of Nantong City, China (grant number MSZ2023061 to Q.Y.);“Tianshan Talent” High-Level Medical and Health Professionals Project(Grant NO.TSYC202401A043); Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Grant No. 2022D01D64 and Grant No. 2022D01C749) and Xinjiang Medical University First Afffliated Hospital Youth Research Launch Special Fund (Grant No. 2022YFY-QKQN-71).

Research Keywords

Parental bonding
Childhood trauma
Coping strategies
Latent profile analysis
Emotional resilience

Publisher's Copyright Statement

COPYRIGHT TERMS OF DEPOSITED POSTPRINT FILE: © 2025. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Access Output

10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

Other Access Options

Check CityUHK Library

Permanent Link

Right click to copy link

Cite this

Jin, L., Chen, J., HUANG, Q. L., Hu, H., Wang, P., FENG, Y., Han, Y., He, X., Liang, F., Zhao, L., Wang, Y., Han, J., Wu, H., Yan, Q., Ji, Y., Yi, Q., lv, Q., & Yi, Z. (2026). Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 393(Part A), Article 120310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

@article{ea244e3e62e24096822115c4d9acaa3b,

title = "Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults",

abstract = "Background: Childhood experiences significantly influence psychological development, yet how combined patterns of parental bonding and childhood trauma affect adult coping strategies remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify distinct profiles based on parental bonding and trauma experiences among Chinese clinical outpatients and examine their relationship with adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviours. Methods: A latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed on data from 1074 clinical outpatients (aged 18–25) recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Shanghai, China. Profiles were generated based on scores from the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Associations between identified profiles and coping strategies, assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), were evaluated using the BCH method. Findings: Three distinct profiles emerged: Secure-Adjusted (high parental care, low trauma; n = 564, 42 \%), Ambivalent-Strained (moderate parental care, high parental control; n = 446, 52 \%), and Disorganized-Adversity (low parental care, severe trauma; n = 65, 6.0 \%). Secure-Adjusted individuals displayed the highest use of adaptive coping strategies and the lowest negative coping. In contrast, the Disorganized-Adversity group exhibited significantly higher reliance on negative coping. Ambivalent-Strained participants showed intermediate adaptive coping levels but did not significantly differ from Secure-Adjusted in maladaptive coping. Interpretation: Distinct profiles based on parental bonding and childhood trauma associated with differing coping strategies in adulthood. These findings underscore the critical impact of relational experiences on coping mechanisms, emphasizing the necessity for targeted psychological interventions addressing both familial dynamics and trauma history to enhance emotional resilience among vulnerable populations. {\textcopyright} 2025 Published by Elsevier B.V.",

keywords = "Parental bonding, Childhood trauma, Coping strategies, Latent profile analysis, Emotional resilience",

author = "Lu Jin and Junhao Chen and HUANG, \{Qi Lu\} and Hongxing Hu and Peijuan Wang and Yujie FENG and Ying Han and Xinyu He and Fei Liang and Lilan Zhao and Ying Wang and Jinyu Han and Haisu Wu and Qi Yan and Yuelong Ji and Qizhong Yi and Qinyu lv and Zhenghui Yi",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310",

language = "English",

volume = "393",

journal = "Journal of Affective Disorders",

issn = "0165-0327",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

number = "Part A",

}

Jin, L, Chen, J, HUANG, QL, Hu, H, Wang, P, FENG, Y, Han, Y, He, X, Liang, F, Zhao, L, Wang, Y, Han, J, Wu, H, Yan, Q, Ji, Y, Yi, Q, lv, Q & Yi, Z 2026, 'Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults', Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 393, no. Part A, 120310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults. / Jin, Lu (Co-first Author); Chen, Junhao (Co-first Author); HUANG, Qi Lu et al.
In: Journal of Affective Disorders, Vol. 393, No. Part A, 120310, 15.01.2026.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample

T2 - Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults

AU - Jin, Lu

AU - Chen, Junhao

AU - HUANG, Qi Lu

AU - Hu, Hongxing

AU - Wang, Peijuan

AU - FENG, Yujie

AU - Han, Ying

AU - He, Xinyu

AU - Liang, Fei

AU - Zhao, Lilan

AU - Wang, Ying

AU - Han, Jinyu

AU - Wu, Haisu

AU - Yan, Qi

AU - Ji, Yuelong

AU - Yi, Qizhong

AU - lv, Qinyu

AU - Yi, Zhenghui

PY - 2026/1/15

Y1 - 2026/1/15

N2 - Background: Childhood experiences significantly influence psychological development, yet how combined patterns of parental bonding and childhood trauma affect adult coping strategies remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify distinct profiles based on parental bonding and trauma experiences among Chinese clinical outpatients and examine their relationship with adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviours. Methods: A latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed on data from 1074 clinical outpatients (aged 18–25) recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Shanghai, China. Profiles were generated based on scores from the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Associations between identified profiles and coping strategies, assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), were evaluated using the BCH method. Findings: Three distinct profiles emerged: Secure-Adjusted (high parental care, low trauma; n = 564, 42 %), Ambivalent-Strained (moderate parental care, high parental control; n = 446, 52 %), and Disorganized-Adversity (low parental care, severe trauma; n = 65, 6.0 %). Secure-Adjusted individuals displayed the highest use of adaptive coping strategies and the lowest negative coping. In contrast, the Disorganized-Adversity group exhibited significantly higher reliance on negative coping. Ambivalent-Strained participants showed intermediate adaptive coping levels but did not significantly differ from Secure-Adjusted in maladaptive coping. Interpretation: Distinct profiles based on parental bonding and childhood trauma associated with differing coping strategies in adulthood. These findings underscore the critical impact of relational experiences on coping mechanisms, emphasizing the necessity for targeted psychological interventions addressing both familial dynamics and trauma history to enhance emotional resilience among vulnerable populations. © 2025 Published by Elsevier B.V.

AB - Background: Childhood experiences significantly influence psychological development, yet how combined patterns of parental bonding and childhood trauma affect adult coping strategies remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify distinct profiles based on parental bonding and trauma experiences among Chinese clinical outpatients and examine their relationship with adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviours. Methods: A latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed on data from 1074 clinical outpatients (aged 18–25) recruited from a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Shanghai, China. Profiles were generated based on scores from the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Associations between identified profiles and coping strategies, assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), were evaluated using the BCH method. Findings: Three distinct profiles emerged: Secure-Adjusted (high parental care, low trauma; n = 564, 42 %), Ambivalent-Strained (moderate parental care, high parental control; n = 446, 52 %), and Disorganized-Adversity (low parental care, severe trauma; n = 65, 6.0 %). Secure-Adjusted individuals displayed the highest use of adaptive coping strategies and the lowest negative coping. In contrast, the Disorganized-Adversity group exhibited significantly higher reliance on negative coping. Ambivalent-Strained participants showed intermediate adaptive coping levels but did not significantly differ from Secure-Adjusted in maladaptive coping. Interpretation: Distinct profiles based on parental bonding and childhood trauma associated with differing coping strategies in adulthood. These findings underscore the critical impact of relational experiences on coping mechanisms, emphasizing the necessity for targeted psychological interventions addressing both familial dynamics and trauma history to enhance emotional resilience among vulnerable populations. © 2025 Published by Elsevier B.V.

KW - Parental bonding

KW - Childhood trauma

KW - Coping strategies

KW - Latent profile analysis

KW - Emotional resilience

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016355309

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105016355309&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2025.120310

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0165-0327

VL - 393

JO - Journal of Affective Disorders

JF - Journal of Affective Disorders

IS - Part A

M1 - 120310

ER -

Profiles of Parental Bonding and Childhood Trauma in a Clinical Sample: Implications for Coping Strategies in Adulthood among Chinese young adults

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

Publisher's Copyright Statement

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Embargoed Document

Fingerprint

Cite this