Abstract: Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of childhood trauma,psychological capital,and core self-evaluation on social adaptation of vocational college students. Methods In November 2023 and May 2024,a total of 311 students from a vocational college in Zhuozhou,Hebei Province were surveyed using the childhood trauma questionnaire-28 items short form（CTQ-SF）,positive psycap questionnaire（PPQ）,core self evaluations scale（CSES）,and China college student adjustment scale（CCSAS）. The survey was conducted in two batches on an online platform to analyze the relationship between various variables. Results The total scores of childhood trauma,psychological capital,core self-evaluation and social adaptation for 311 vocational college students were （39.55±9.81）,（116.95±25.57）,（33.12±6.82） and （191.46±34.45）points,respectively. Childhood trauma was negatively correlated with social adaptation,psychological capital,and core self-evaluation（r=-0.313,-0.323,-0.372,all P<0.01）,psychological capital was positively correlated with social adaptation and core self-evaluation（r=0.783,0.733,both P<0.01）,and core self-evaluation was positively correlated with social adaptation（r=0.703,P<0.01）. Both psychological capital and core self-evaluation mediated between childhood trauma and social adaptation,with the former having a mediation effect value of -0.157,or 61.811% of the total effect,and the latter having a mediation effect value of -0.044,or 17.323% of the total effect. Psychological capital and core self-evaluation chained mediation between childhood trauma and social adaptation,with a chained mediation effect value of -0.053, accounting for 20.866% of the total effect. Conclusion For individuals with traumatic childhood experiences,enhancing their psychological capital and core self-evaluation is an effective strategy to promote their social adaptation.

Key words: Childhood trauma, Social adaptation, Psychological capital, Core self-evaluation, Vocational college students