From Adversity to Purpose: How Self-compassion and Age Influence Meaning in Life Among Adults with Adverse Childhood Experiences

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to negative health outcomes across the lifespan but less is known about psychological resources that might mitigate these effects. Meaning in life, conceptualized as presence (i.e., a sense of purpose and coherence) and search (i.e., striving for meaning), and self-compassion may serve as resilience factors that buffer the long-term impact of early adversity. The present study examined associations among ACEs, self-compassion, age, and meaning in life, testing whether self-compassion and age moderated the effects of ACEs. Participants were 875 community-dwelling adults (M = 66.1, SD = 20.8). Multiple linear regression models tested main and interaction effects of age and self-compassion on outcomes of presence of and search for meaning in life. Results indicated that self-compassion was a robust positive predictor of presence of meaning and a negative predictor in search for meaning. ACEs predicted lower presence of meaning, and both self-compassion and age moderated this relationship, such that adverse effects of ACEs were attenuated among individuals higher in self-compassion and among older adults. For search, self-compassion predicted lower search for meaning, while ACEs and the moderation effect were not statistically significant. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing presence and search as distinct constructs and highlights the protective role of psychological and developmental resources in meaning-making following adversity. Self-compassion may represent a promising target for interventions aimed at fostering resilience in individuals with ACEs.