An examination of the relationships between adverse childhood experiences, personality traits, and job-related burnout in early childhood educators

Early childhood professionals experience more adverse childhood trauma than other populations. How this trauma impacts job-related burnout, and is mediated by personality, is not known. This study explored the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, personality, and job-related burnout, and whether personality mediates between adverse childhood experiences and job-related burnout. Participants included 207 early childhood educators from the U.S. Results revealed a significant, positive correlation between adverse childhood experiences, and neuroticism and openness. Neuroticism and openness were found to mediate between adverse childhood experiences and burnout. Understanding this relationship has implications for the design of supportive infrastructures and professional development initiatives. •Adverse childhood experiences significantly correlated with personality traits: neuroticism and openness.•Burnout was significantly correlated with extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism.•Personality traits, openness and neuroticism, mediated between adverse childhood experiences and burnout.