Does early adversity predict executive functioning difficulties among undergraduates? Dissociations among...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Early adversity, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), can impact long-term psychological and cognitive development.
• Executive functioning is crucial for daily life and is often assessed through self-report and objective laboratory measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between self-reported early adversity and both self-reported and laboratory-measured executive functioning in young adults.
• To explore potential discrepancies between subjective and objective assessments of executive functions following adverse childhood experiences.

Main Methods:

• Two studies involving young adults (N=231 and N=61) assessed adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), self-reported executive functioning (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - BRIEF), and other psychological variables.
• The second sample also underwent laboratory tasks measuring working memory, inhibitory control, and selective attention, with concurrent electroencephalogram (EEG) recording.

Main Results:

• Greater self-reported ACEs were significantly associated with higher self-reported executive functioning difficulties on the BRIEF in both samples, even after controlling for depression and emotion regulation.
• However, in the second sample, neither performance on laboratory executive function tasks nor EEG/event-related potential (ERP) measures correlated with individual differences in ACEs.

Conclusions:

• Early adversity predicts self-perceived executive functioning challenges but not objective performance or neural correlates in laboratory settings.
• Potential explanations include negative self-evaluation biases in individuals with a history of adversity or limitations of current lab tasks in capturing real-world executive function deficits.