Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Temple University.
Psychol Trauma. 2024 Nov;16(8):1357-1366. doi: 10.1037/tra0001568. Epub 2023 Aug 10.
This project seeks to clarify the impact of childhood trauma and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) on working memory (WM) and explore gender differences in these relationships. The effect of childhood trauma on WM performance has yet to be explored in individuals with PLEs, despite consistent associations between trauma, psychosis spectrum symptoms, and WM performance.
In 466 undergraduates, positive PLEs (Prodromal Questionnaire) and trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) were examined to determine contributions to WM performance on a spatial n-back task. We conducted hierarchical linear regressions on the total sample and stratified by gender to examine the effects of childhood trauma, positive PLEs, and their interaction on WM performance. Supplemental analyses explored attenuated negative and disorganized symptoms.
Controlling for age, there were no significant main effects of positive PLEs, childhood trauma, their interaction, or three-way interaction including gender in predicting WM. After stratifying by gender, childhood trauma was significantly associated with poorer WM in females only. Post hoc analyses revealed that in the full sample, physical neglect predicted WM performance and was a trend for females, while sexual abuse trended toward predicting WM in males. Supplemental analyses of attenuated negative and disorganized symptoms revealed childhood trauma significantly predicted WM in the full sample and females only for negative symptoms.
Females who have experienced childhood trauma may be at greater risk for WM problems, irrespective of co-occurring PLEs, suggesting that cognitive difficulties may be partially attributable to history of trauma. These findings have potential implications for intervention strategies in trauma-exposed individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
本研究旨在阐明儿童期创伤和类精神病体验（PLEs）对工作记忆（WM）的影响，并探讨这些关系中的性别差异。尽管创伤、精神病谱症状和 WM 表现之间存在一致关联，但在有 PLEs 的个体中，儿童期创伤对 WM 表现的影响尚未得到探讨。
在 466 名大学生中，通过积极 PLEs（前驱期问卷）和创伤（儿童期创伤问卷）来确定其对空间 n-back 任务 WM 表现的贡献。我们对总样本进行了分层线性回归，并按性别分层，以检验儿童期创伤、积极 PLEs 及其相互作用对 WM 表现的影响。补充分析探讨了减轻的阴性和紊乱症状。
在控制年龄的情况下，积极 PLEs、儿童期创伤、它们的相互作用或包括性别的三向相互作用均不能显著预测 WM。按性别分层后，只有女性的儿童期创伤与 WM 较差显著相关。事后分析表明，在全样本中，身体忽视与 WM 表现相关，且对女性呈趋势，而性虐待对男性 WM 呈趋势。对减轻的阴性和紊乱症状的补充分析表明，在全样本和女性中，儿童期创伤显著预测 WM，而仅对阴性症状。
经历过儿童期创伤的女性可能面临更大的 WM 问题风险，无论是否同时存在 PLEs，这表明认知困难可能部分归因于创伤史。这些发现可能对创伤暴露个体的干预策略有影响。
