Psychol Trauma. 2023 Sep;15(Suppl 2):S297-S304. doi: 10.1037/tra0001497.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The current study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Protective and Compensatory Experiences Survey (PACES; Morris et al., 2018) within a military population. The study’s aims are to evaluate if the PACES is a reliable measure to use with military samples and to examine the validity of the PACES measure when exploring protective experiences in relation to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult traumatic stress (ATS) in an active duty military sample.

METHOD: Active duty Service members were recruited to complete an online survey that included measures pertaining to ACEs, PACES, and ATS.

RESULTS: The reliability and validity of PACES indicate that Service members who are involved in protective and compensatory experiences as youth are less likely to have experiences of stress both as children and as adults.

CONCLUSIONS: Given the need for mission readiness of Service members and their higher likelihood to experience ACEs than civilians, the role of protective and compensatory factors is vital to their livelihood and career. PACES psychometrics offer a reliable and valid measure to use when exploring the risk and resilience experiences of Service members across the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:38885426 | DOI:10.1037/tra0001497