Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment
Abstract There are individual differences in health outcomes following exposure to childhood maltreatment, yet constant individual variance is often assumed in analyses. Among 286 Black, South African women, the association between childhood maltreatment and neurocognitive health, defined here as ne...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85979-9 |
| _version_ | 1818429343721848832 |
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| author | Christy A. Denckla Sun Yeop Lee Rockli Kim Georgina Spies Jennifer J. Vasterling S. V. Subramanian Soraya Seedat |
| author_facet | Christy A. Denckla Sun Yeop Lee Rockli Kim Georgina Spies Jennifer J. Vasterling S. V. Subramanian Soraya Seedat |
| author_sort | Christy A. Denckla |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract There are individual differences in health outcomes following exposure to childhood maltreatment, yet constant individual variance is often assumed in analyses. Among 286 Black, South African women, the association between childhood maltreatment and neurocognitive health, defined here as neurocognitive performance (NP), was first estimated assuming constant variance. Then, without assuming constant variance, we applied Goldstein’s method (Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science, Wiley, 2005) to model “complex level-1 variation” in NP as a function of childhood maltreatment. Mean performance in some tests of information processing speed (Digit-symbol, Stroop Word, and Stroop Color) lowered with increasing severity of childhood maltreatment, without evidence of significant individual variation. Conversely, we found significant individual variation by severity of childhood maltreatment in tests of information processing speed (Trail Making Test) and executive function (Color Trails 2 and Stroop Color-Word), in the absence of mean differences. Exploratory results suggest that the presence of individual-level heterogeneity in neurocognitive performance among women exposed to childhood maltreatment warrants further exploration. The methods presented here may be used in a person-centered framework to better understand vulnerability to the toxic neurocognitive effects of childhood maltreatment at the individual level, ultimately informing personalized prevention and treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:16:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f1e669ed13d473990d8570d50045291 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:16:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f1e669ed13d473990d8570d500452912022-12-21T22:56:20ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-03-0111111110.1038/s41598-021-85979-9Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatmentChristy A. Denckla0Sun Yeop Lee1Rockli Kim2Georgina Spies3Jennifer J. Vasterling4S. V. Subramanian5Soraya Seedat6Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public HealthDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public HealthInterdisciplinary Program in Precision Public Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Korea UniversityNRF/DST South African Research Chairs Initiative, PTSD Program, Stellenbosch UniversityBoston University School of MedicineDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public HealthNRF/DST South African Research Chairs Initiative, PTSD Program, Stellenbosch UniversityAbstract There are individual differences in health outcomes following exposure to childhood maltreatment, yet constant individual variance is often assumed in analyses. Among 286 Black, South African women, the association between childhood maltreatment and neurocognitive health, defined here as neurocognitive performance (NP), was first estimated assuming constant variance. Then, without assuming constant variance, we applied Goldstein’s method (Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science, Wiley, 2005) to model “complex level-1 variation” in NP as a function of childhood maltreatment. Mean performance in some tests of information processing speed (Digit-symbol, Stroop Word, and Stroop Color) lowered with increasing severity of childhood maltreatment, without evidence of significant individual variation. Conversely, we found significant individual variation by severity of childhood maltreatment in tests of information processing speed (Trail Making Test) and executive function (Color Trails 2 and Stroop Color-Word), in the absence of mean differences. Exploratory results suggest that the presence of individual-level heterogeneity in neurocognitive performance among women exposed to childhood maltreatment warrants further exploration. The methods presented here may be used in a person-centered framework to better understand vulnerability to the toxic neurocognitive effects of childhood maltreatment at the individual level, ultimately informing personalized prevention and treatment.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85979-9 |
| spellingShingle | Christy A. Denckla Sun Yeop Lee Rockli Kim Georgina Spies Jennifer J. Vasterling S. V. Subramanian Soraya Seedat Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment Scientific Reports |
| title | Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| title_full | Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| title_fullStr | Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| title_short | Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| title_sort | patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among south african women exposed to childhood maltreatment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85979-9 |
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