Learning, memory, and physiological arousal in children exposed to domestic violence.

摘要

Little research has been conducted on cognitive correlates of PTSD and trauma in children. The current study focuses on cognitive and physiological processes in children exposed to interparental aggression and violence (IPA), which includes behaviors ranging from verbal aggression and psychological abuse (e.g., yelling, making threats, hostile criticism) to severe physical aggression (e.g., kicking, beating). The main goals of this study were to: (1) Compare IPA-exposed children (n = 53) to non-exposed children (n = 13) on tests of verbal learning and memory in neutral and IPA-primed contexts (i.e., after watching a video of a stream running and after watching a video depicting adults having an argument), (2) Test the relationship between lifetime exposure to IPA and learning and memory scores, and (3) Test PTSD symptomatology and physiological arousal as potential mediators of the relationship between IPA exposure and memory scores. Exposed children had lower scores on the Block Design subtest of the WISC-III and lower predicted Full Scale IQs than control children. In the neutral learning context, there was a moderate sized (but statistically insignificant) multivariate effect for learning and memory scores, with the exposed group performing worse than the control group. Contrary to hypotheses, greater lifetime exposure was related to better performance on tests of learning and memory in the neutral context and this relationship was mediated by avoidant symptoms. Recent exposure to IPA (in the last year) was associated with poorer performance on a short delayed recall task. Exposed children who witnessed IPA both recently and early in life performed worse on tests of learning and memory in the IPA-primed context, compared to children who experienced early, time-limited exposure to IPA. Children in the control and exposed groups demonstrated decreased heart rate over the course of the IPA-primed video and decreased HR was associated with children's self-reported symptoms of dissociation. HR decreased the most for children who experienced early and recent IPA, and children who experienced both IPA and direct abuse. Implications for the field and future research are discussed.