Correlation of childhood trauma and leisure activities with psychological distress among upper grade elemetary school students
10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2026030
- VernacularTitle:童年期创伤和休闲活动与小学高年级学生心理困扰的关联
- Author:
HUANG Hai, HAO Jinlian, WEI Xinhua, LIANG Yanan, ZHANG Lina, ZHANG Junjie, ZHU Minhui, WEI Jinsheng, LI Yitong, WANG Jia, ZHANG Huiying
1
Author Information
1. School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Leisure activities；Child abuse；Mental health；Regression analysis；Students
- From:
Chinese Journal of School Health
2026;47(1):70-74
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To understand the impact of childhood trauma on psychological distress among upper grade elemetary school students, and to explore the mediating role of leisure activities in the relationship, so as to provide a basis for developing mental health intervention strategies.
Methods:From August to November 2024, a combination of convenience sampling and stratified cluster random sampling was employed to recruit 1 373 fourth to sixth grade students from four primary schools in Harbin. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire(CTQ), a self designed leisure activity scale (including active and passive leisure activities), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were used to assess childhood trauma experiences, leisure activities, and levels of psychological distress. Spearman correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were conducted to explore the relationships among childhood trauma, leisure types, leisure time, and psychological distress. Based on the mediation analysis framework proposed by Hayes (Model 4), the mediating role of leisure types in the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological distress was examined.
Results:Totally 19.1% of the upper elemetary school students exhibited psychological distress, while 30.2% had experienced childhood trauma. During school days, 64.6% of the students were reported of having leisure time concentrated between 1 and 5 hours per day, whereas 67.4% reported leisure time exceeding 5 hours per day on weekends. After controlling for potential demographic confounders such as gender, grade, ethnicity, household registration, being an only child, parents educational level, co residence, and whether parents are first time married,linear regression analysis showed that childhood trauma experience had positive predictive effect on psychological distress in upper primary school students( β =0.20, P <0.01). Leisure time showed no statistically significant association with psychological distress, both on school days ( β =-0.58 to -0.56) and weekends ( β =0.26- 0.98 )(all P >0.05). Active leisure activities were negatively associated with psychological distress ( β =-0.20), while passive leisure activities were positively associated with psychological distress ( β =0.29)(both P <0.01). Leisure type partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological distress, accounting for 11.7% of the indirect effect.
Conclusion:Childhood trauma experiences positively predict psychological distress in upper elementary school students, and affect psychological distress through active leisure and passive leisure.
