Child Maltreatment Moderates the Association Between Memory Errors and Posttraumatic-stress-related Distraction Symptoms

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Verbal declarative memory errors have been identified as a risk factor for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in adults in both cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal studies (Samuelson, 2011). However, little is known about whether this relationship exists in childhood or how memory errors relate to specific domains of PTSS. Therefore, this study examined the hypothesis that verbal declarative memory errors are positively associated with posttraumatic-stress-related distraction symptoms in children. Additionally, based on prior research linking maltreatment (including abuse and neglect) to neurocognitive dysfunction and PTSS (De Bellis, Woolley, & Hooper, 2013), it was hypothesized that maltreated children would have higher levels of memory errors and show a stronger association between memory errors and distraction symptoms than their non-maltreated peers.
Participants in this study included 176 socio-economically disadvantaged children (52.6% female; 58.8% Black, 13.2% White, 9.2% Latinx, 18.8% other race). At Age 9, 18.9% of children had previous Child Protective records of neglect only, 38.2% of children had records of neglect plus emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse, and 40.1% had no records of maltreatment. All children in the sample endorsed exposure to violence at or prior to Age 9. Cognitive measures and PTSS were assessed at Ages 9 and 11.
Using hierarchical regression, a significant positive association was found between Age 9 memory errors, represented by intrusion errors on the California Verbal Learning Test-Children’s Version (CVLT-C), and Age 11 distraction symptoms (distraction subscale from the Checklist of Children’s Distress Symptoms; CCDS), F(1, 170 = 10.184, p = .002, β = .290). This association was moderated by maltreatment status, F(1,170 = 10.662, p = .001, β = -.284); for non-maltreated children, increased intrusion errors predicted increased distraction symptoms, F(1, 170 = 13.162, p < .001, β = .580), whereas for maltreated children, there was no significant association, F(1, 170 = 0.00, p = .995, β = .001). There was no main effect of maltreatment on intrusion errors.
The positive association between intrusion errors and distraction symptoms for the non-maltreated violence-exposed children was consistent with the adult literature and may represent an expectable pathway of PTSS development. This pathway was seemingly disrupted in maltreated children, as maltreated children had similar levels of distraction symptoms regardless of intrusion errors. This disruption appeared beneficial for maltreated children with high intrusions as they exhibited lower-than-expected distraction symptoms but appeared detrimental for maltreated children with low intrusions because exhibiting less intrusions did not afford the same protective effect against distraction symptoms seen in their non-maltreated peers. It is possible that non-maltreated children are more susceptible to the influence of memory deficits which results in a greater variation of distraction symptoms whereas experiencing maltreatment may override this influence, resulting in a stable, mean-level presentation of distraction symptoms. The current study extends prior research by revealing a multi-faceted relationship between maltreatment, memory errors, and distraction symptoms in violence-exposed children using a multi-method longitudinal design and indicates that memory-based intervention strategies for preventing PTSS in violence-exposed children may be differentially effective based on a child’s maltreatment status.

Authors

• Anna Smith, University of Rochester
  Presenting Author

• Jody Todd Manly, University of Rochester
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michael Lynch, State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo)
  Non-Presenting Author