Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The dimensional model of adversity proposes that threat (abuse) and deprivation (neglect) exert distinct effects on neurocognitive development. We tested whether these dimensions show opposing associations with neural indices of performance monitoring in a sample of 782 young adults from the CoScience EEG-Personality Project. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire alongside an Eriksen flanker task while electroencephalography was recorded. Performance monitoring was indexed by the error-related negativity and frontal midline theta activity. Consistent with preregistered hypotheses, abuse and neglect showed opposing associations with both neural measures. Higher abuse was associated with enhanced error-related negativity but not theta power, whereas higher neglect was associated with attenuated error-related negativity and reduced theta power. Exploratory analyses indicated that these associations were moderated by sex, with stronger effects observed in males. These findings are consistent with the distinction between threat- and deprivation-related adversity and suggest that different forms of childhood adversity may be linked to variation in neurocognitive processes underlying cognitive control. However, the cross-sectional and retrospective nature of the measures limits causal inference and may introduce reporting biases.
Source: Imaging Neuroscience
DOI: 10.1162/imag.a.1439
Institutions: University of Southampton, Bond University
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7221782933