Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41688118›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2026

Key protective factors that mitigate the impact of childhood trauma on poor mental health in adulthood: a scoping review protocol.

Anna Clarke, Nutmeg Hallett, Yvette Brown, Claire Cunnington, Maria R Dauvermann, Gerald Jordan, Renate Reniers, Julie Taylor

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Anna ClarkeSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0693-0340
Nutmeg HallettSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK n.n.hallett@bham.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3115-8831
Yvette BrownSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Claire CunningtonSchool of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Maria R DauvermannInstitute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Gerald JordanSchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Renate ReniersInstitute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Julie TaylorSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-0906

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionA significant proportion of adults in England and Wales report experiencing childhood trauma, which is often associated with poor health and negative social outcomes including a significant increase in the risk of poor mental health outcomes in adulthood. This proposed scoping review adopts a broad definition of childhood trauma and applies both a salutogenic framework and ecological systems theory to explore how protective factors at five ecological levels can support mental well-being. The review will also examine how protective factors vary across different population groups and contexts. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) protocol for scoping reviews. The databases that will be searched are Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Medline. Studies will be included if they include protective factors and involve adults aged 18 and over who have experienced childhood trauma, whether self-identified, retrospectively self-reported or measured using a validated instrument. Studies will be excluded if they focus on participants under the age of 18.All search results will be uploaded to Covidence, duplicates removed, and titles/abstracts screened by at least two reviewers based on inclusion criteria. Full texts of potentially relevant sources will be imported into EndNote 21. Reasons for exclusions will be documented and disagreements resolved through discussion or a third reviewer. The full process will be reported using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. Data will be extracted by at least two reviewers using a tool developed by the team based on the JBI guidance. A best-fit framework analysis will be used, using a matrix developed by the researchers including the four salutogenic domains and the five levels of the ecological framework. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Formal ethical approval is not necessary for this scoping review as it does not involve the collection of primary data. The outcomes of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles, conference/seminar presentations, and developed into resources for stakeholders and collaborators. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Open Science Framework (DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/CJRUY).

Indexed as

Adverse Childhood ExperiencesMental DisordersMental HealthAdultHumansProtective FactorsResearch DesignScoping Reviews as TopicWalesAdverse eventsChildMENTAL HEALTH

Identifiers

PMID41688118
PMCPMC12911740

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.