GRATITUDE MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP OF NEUROTICISM, ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG UNDERGRADUATES

Abstract

Young adults’ prosocial tendencies have been shown to be adversely impacted by their experiences of trauma during childhood as well as their neurotic tendencies. However, studies examining mechanisms that could mitigate these adverse effects are scare in literature, especially among students in tertiary institutions. We therefore examined the role of gratitude in the relationship of neuroticism, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and prosocial behaviour among undergraduates. Using a cross-sectional design, we conveniently sampled 349 undergraduates (male=157, female=192, mean=28.26, SD=3.39) from a Nigerian University, who were assessed using validated measures of neuroticism, adverse childhood experiences, gratitude and prosocial behaviour. The Hayes Process Macros-based moderation analysis results showed that the negative impact of neuroticism on prosocial behaviour (PSB) was not significant. Moreover, ACE-sexual abuse category was negatively associated with PSB, while the physical/emotional abuse dimension of the ACE did not predict PSB. Gratitude was positively associated with PSB. The test of moderation effects indicated that the negative impact of neuroticism on PSB was more severe for undergraduates high in gratitude, compared to undergraduates with low and moderate levels of gratitude.  Interventions should prioritize trauma-informed care to effectively address the complex needs of undergraduates with history of abuses, while also targeting neurotic tendencies.

Keywords: adverse childhood experiences, moderation, neuroticism, physical/emotional abuse, prosocial behaviour, sexual abuse.