DePrince, A., Weinzierl, K., & Combs, M. (2009). Executive function performance and trauma exposure in a community sample of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(6), 353-361.
Executive functions (EFs) are integral to goal directed behaviour. Although interference in EF with adults has been shown for those who have experienced trauma, little research has been undertaken to examine EFs among children who have experienced familial trauma (e.g., sexual abuse, physical abuse, witnessing domestic violence). Thus, this study is amongst the first to examine the relationship between familial trauma and EF performance in children. Authors examined EFs in children who were exposed to familial trauma, non-familial trauma and no trauma. The results indicate children exposed to familial trauma had reduced EF performance. Additionally, the number of familial traumas experienced had an effect on the child’s EF. Thus, results show children who have experienced familial trauma may be more at risk than their peers in regards to their ability to fully utilize EFs.
This study predicts children who experience some form of familial trauma (n=44) will exhibit poorer EFs than children exposed to non-familial trauma (e.g., natural disaster, vehicle accident; n=38) and children who have not experienced trauma (n=28). The study engaged school-aged children (n=110) for the study through flyers at community agencies, centres, and businesses. The mean age of the child participants was 10 years (Mean: 10.39, SD: 1.19). Both the children and caregivers participated in a two session study where several measures were administered including those assessing children’s memory, inhibition, processing speed, interference control, and auditory attention. The specific tools used were the Wechler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition, Gordon Diagnostic System, the Brief Test of Attention, and a Stroop task. Caregivers completed various tools, assessing behaviours of the child and the type of trauma the child experienced, including the UCLA PTSD Index and the Child Dissociative Checklist. Six children were identified from the familial trauma group who had been sexually abused, but the relationship to the perpetrator was not noted. Thus, they were removed from various analyses during the study because it could not be confirmed they experienced trauma within their family unit. Analysis revealed a link between experiencing familial trauma and poorer EFs, even when considering factors such as dissociation, anxiety, socioeconomic status, and traumatic brain injury. Further, the authors found the number of familial incidents played a role in EF variance; this was not the finding in the non-familial trauma group. Additionally, a medium effect size was found when considering the relationship between IQ and EFs.
Strengths and Limitations:
There are limitations within this study. Caregiver’s may have unconsciously provided an elevated level of dissociation for their child, as they were aware of the requirements of participants and that dissociation was being measured in the study. Further, the trauma report relies upon caregivers’ accounts of trauma histories and may include false negatives given concerns about mandatory reporting to child welfare. The study was cross-sectional and examined only one point in time, therefore, cannot establish a causal relationship between EF and familial trauma exposure. Lastly, EF is closely related to other cognitive measures (e.g., language), thus future research designs would benefit from more thorough cognitive assessments. Nonetheless, this study provides some preliminary evidence that EFs may be lowered in children who have experienced familial trauma, and that EFs require careful assessment.