The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood
The aim of this study was to research the relation between exposure to maltreatment in childhood and working memory capacity in adulthood. A survey among 376 females in the age between 16 and 67 was administered. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood (sexual, physical and psychological abuse, neglec...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Europe's Journal of Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/1373 |
| _version_ | 1797972268250300416 |
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| author | Arta Dodaj Marijana Krajina Kristina Sesar Nataša Šimić |
| author_facet | Arta Dodaj Marijana Krajina Kristina Sesar Nataša Šimić |
| author_sort | Arta Dodaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this study was to research the relation between exposure to maltreatment in childhood and working memory capacity in adulthood. A survey among 376 females in the age between 16 and 67 was administered. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood (sexual, physical and psychological abuse, neglect and witnessing family violence) was assessed retrospectively using the Child Maltreatment Questionnaire (Karlović, Buljan-Flander, & Vranić, 2001), whilst the Working Memory Questionnaire (Vallat-Azouvi, Pradat-Diehl, & Azouvi, 2012) was used to assess working memory capacity (recalling verbal information, numerical information, attention ability and executive functioning). The results suggest a significantly greater prevalence of physical abuse and witnessing family violence in comparison to other forms of maltreatment in childhood. Psychological abuse and witnessing family violence have shown themselves to be statistically significant predictors for deficits in total working memory capacity, verbal recall and attention ability. The results suggest that traumatic experiences during childhood, such as abuse, may trigger particular cognitive changes which may be reflected in adulthood. It is, therefore, exceedingly important to conduct further research in order to contribute to the understanding of the correlation between cognitive difficulties and maltreatment in childhood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:45:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dbdfabb34d564403ad0516b08ada5bea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1841-0413 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:45:51Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Europe's Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-dbdfabb34d564403ad0516b08ada5bea2023-01-02T02:53:14ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyEurope's Journal of Psychology1841-04132017-11-0113461863210.5964/ejop.v13i4.1373ejop.v13i4.1373The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in AdulthoodArta Dodaj0Marijana Krajina1Kristina Sesar2Nataša Šimić3Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Zadar, CroatiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and HerzegovinaCentre of Mental Health, Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and HerzegovinaDepartment of Psychology, University of Zadar, Zadar, CroatiaThe aim of this study was to research the relation between exposure to maltreatment in childhood and working memory capacity in adulthood. A survey among 376 females in the age between 16 and 67 was administered. Exposure to maltreatment in childhood (sexual, physical and psychological abuse, neglect and witnessing family violence) was assessed retrospectively using the Child Maltreatment Questionnaire (Karlović, Buljan-Flander, & Vranić, 2001), whilst the Working Memory Questionnaire (Vallat-Azouvi, Pradat-Diehl, & Azouvi, 2012) was used to assess working memory capacity (recalling verbal information, numerical information, attention ability and executive functioning). The results suggest a significantly greater prevalence of physical abuse and witnessing family violence in comparison to other forms of maltreatment in childhood. Psychological abuse and witnessing family violence have shown themselves to be statistically significant predictors for deficits in total working memory capacity, verbal recall and attention ability. The results suggest that traumatic experiences during childhood, such as abuse, may trigger particular cognitive changes which may be reflected in adulthood. It is, therefore, exceedingly important to conduct further research in order to contribute to the understanding of the correlation between cognitive difficulties and maltreatment in childhood.http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/1373maltreatment in childhoodtraumacognitive functioningworking memoryexecutive functions |
| spellingShingle | Arta Dodaj Marijana Krajina Kristina Sesar Nataša Šimić The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood Europe's Journal of Psychology maltreatment in childhood trauma cognitive functioning working memory executive functions |
| title | The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood |
| title_full | The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood |
| title_fullStr | The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood |
| title_short | The Effects of Maltreatment in Childhood on Working Memory Capacity in Adulthood |
| title_sort | effects of maltreatment in childhood on working memory capacity in adulthood |
| topic | maltreatment in childhood trauma cognitive functioning working memory executive functions |
| url | http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/1373 |
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