Adverse Childhood Experiences and Subjective Well‐Being in Adolescents: The Role of Needs Satisfaction and Self‐Compassion

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been found to impair well-being, but the underlying mechanisms through which ACEs influence subjective well-being remain unclear. A survey was conducted among 1246 adolescents from a high school in China. Drawing upon the risky families model and the Self-Determination Theory, we established a moderated mediation framework, which was devised to explore the mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and the moderating role of self-compassion. The results indicated that ACEs exhibited a negative association with adolescents' subjective well-being, and BPNS mediated this association. Furthermore, both positive and negative dimensions of self-compassion moderated the connection between ACEs and BPNS, such that this connection was stronger among adolescents who possessed elevated levels of self-compassion. The present findings corroborate the detrimental impact of ACEs on adolescents' subjective well-being and further elucidate the underlying mechanisms by emphasizing the mediating function of BPNS and the moderating influence of self-compassion.