Adverse childhood experiences and cognition: A cross-sectional study in Xhosa people living with schizophrenia and matched medical controls

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with impaired cognitive function in adult life in the general population as well as in people living with schizophrenia (PLS). Research on cognitive function in PLS in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is, however, limited. The ob...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Andreo Jover, Jorge, Wootton, Olivia, Fernández Jiménez, Eduardo, Muñoz Sanjosé, Ainoa, Mediavilla, Roberto, Bravo Ortiz, María Fe, Susser, Ezra, Gur, Rubén C., Stein, Dan J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Europea (UEM)
Repositorio:ABACUS. Repositorio de Producción Científica
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:abacus.universidadeuropea.com:11268/12821
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11268/12821
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Neuropsicología
Psicología clínica
Psiquiatría
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with impaired cognitive function in adult life in the general population as well as in people living with schizophrenia (PLS). Research on cognitive function in PLS in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is, however, limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between ACE types and various cognitive domains in a sample of PLS and matched medical controls, and to determine the moderating effect of group membership (PLS vs. medical controls) on these associations, in the South African setting. Methods: Participants (n PLS = 520; n medical controls = 832) completed the Childhood Trauma QuestionnaireShort Form, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I), and the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PennCNB). An efficiency or speed score was used to assess performance across 9 cognitive domains. The association between exposure to different ACE types and 9 cognitive domains was examined using partial correlations and multiple linear regression models, adjusting for sex, age and education years. Finally, potential moderating effects of group membership (PLS vs. medical controls) on the association between ACEs and cognitive domains were tested. Results: In the entire sample, emotional and physical abuse predicted worse performance on sensorimotor and emotion identification domains. Also, emotional abuse was negatively associated with motor function, physical abuse was negatively associated with spatial processing, and physical neglect was negatively associated with face memory and emotion identification. In contrast, emotional neglect was related to better performance on abstraction and mental flexibility. No moderating effect of group membership was found on any of these associations. Conclusion: Exposure to ACEs was associated with social and non -social cognition in adulthood, although the magnitude of these relationships was small and similar between PLS and matched medical controls. The nature of these associations differed across ACE subtype, suggesting the need for a nuanced approach to studying a range of mechanisms that may underlie different associations. However, a number of ACE subtypes were associated with worse performance on emotional identification, indicating that some underlying mechanisms may have more transversal impact. These findings contribute to the sparse body of literature on ACEs and cognition in PLS in LMIC.