The role of derailment in the relationship between childhood trauma and depression among emerging adults: A latent moderated model.

OBJECTIVE

Childhood trauma has been demonstrated to have severe adverse effects on lifespan. Although research has explored the link between childhood trauma and depression, fewer studies have examined this relationship specifically in the context of emerging adulthood. To address this gap, the present study aimed to further investigate the relationship between childhood trauma and depression in emerging adults and explore the roles of derailment and future time perspective.

METHOD: A total of 3,553 college students were recruited from Beijing, China. Participants completed a series of self-report questionnaires measuring childhood trauma, derailment, future time perspective, and depression. A moderated mediation model with latent variables was conducted to analyze the relationships between the main variables using Mplus8.3.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated that childhood trauma was positively associated with depression. Derailment was identified as a mediator in the relationship between childhood trauma and depression. Additionally, future time perspective was found to moderate both the direct path from childhood trauma to depression and the mediating effects of derailment, indicating that individuals with a more positive future time perspective experienced weaker effects of childhood trauma on depression through derailment.

CONCLUSIONS

Derailment partially mediated the association between childhood trauma and depression in emerging adults. Furthermore, future time perspective buffered the negative effects of childhood trauma and derailment on depression. In the future, the potential for targeted interventions focusing on enhancing future time perspective may help reduce the detrimental effects of childhood trauma on mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).