Native Hawaiian wellbeing and transdiagnostic trauma symptoms: The protective role of physical activity in dissociation

Objectives: Native Hawaiians (NH) report higher rates of interpersonal trauma in childhood or adolescence (ITCA) as well as higher rates of chronic physical illness and psychopathology. Given that physical activity (PA) has positive impacts on physical and mental health, it may also serve as a protective factor in the development of poor health outcomes in adulthood following ITCA. The present study investigated what factors contribute to wellbeing and transdiagnostic posttraumatic sequelae for individuals with exposure to ITCA using a dataset from a longitudinal study cohort (n = 989) of ethnically diverse older individuals (mean age = 60) in Hawaiʻi. Methods: Five univariate general linear models were used to explore the unique effects of: PA; ITCA level; NH status; interactions with ITCA level; and interactions with NH status on the dependent variables: posttraumatic sequelae (i.e., dissociation, avoidance, interpersonal difficulty) and aspects of wellbeing (i.e., satisfaction with life [SWL], self-rated health). Results: PA was a significant predictor of SWL, self-rated health, and dissociation, while exposure to ITCA predicted SWL. NH group status interacted with PA to uniquely predict dissociation. Exposure to ITCA differentially predicted SWL. Conclusions: Findings support prior evidence that processes in posttraumatic experience are significantly associated with poor health-promoting behaviors (e.g., PA). Additionally, for NHs, PA may reduce dissociation, or levels of dissociation already present in the NH group may play a role in disengagement from PA. Future research should consider whether PA holds benefits across trauma types (e.g., historical trauma), or if culturally based PA is differentially more protective.