Childhood maltreatment and cognitive functioning from young adulthood to late midlife: A prospective study.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The negative consequences of childhood maltreatment have been documented across multiple domains, including cognitive functioning in midlife. This study examined the impact of childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning into late midlife, changes over time, and the extent to which cognitive change over time predicted functional impairment. METHOD: = 59.4). Tasks assessing verbal intelligence, processing speed, and executive functioning were administered at multiple points, permitting examination of changes over time. The eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia assessed self-perceived change in functioning associated with dementing disorders. Linear mixed effects and structural equation models were used. RESULTS: Childhood maltreatment predicted poorer performance on cognitive tasks in young adulthood and late midlife, except for Stroop, and predicted a steeper decline in performance on the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised and Trails B. Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised, Matrix Reasoning, and Trails A and B change scores predicted greater perceived functional decline on the eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia, whereas childhood maltreatment did not. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of childhood maltreatment on cognitive functioning continue into late midlife, with worse performance on tasks assessing general intelligence, abstract visual reasoning, processing speed, and set-shifting compared with controls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Source: Neuropsychology
DOI: 10.1037/neu0001042
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Justice, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1179383323, G1273977617, Child Abuse and Neglect, Chronic Stress, and Drug Abuse, G1762377256, Child Maltreatment and Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease, G3407084701, CHILDHOOD VICTIMIZATION AND LIFETIME REVICTIMIZATION, G4012104649, LONG TERM MENTAL OUTCOMES OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, CHILD ABUSE, RISK, AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS--DRUG ABUSE, G5599699835, CHILDHOOD VICTIMIZATION AND RISK FOR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS, CHILD ABUSE AND ALCOHOL ABUSE, Intergenerational Transmission of Neglect and Abuse
OpenAlex ID: W4415247312