How childhood adversity affects components of decision making

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Childhood adversity is linked to behavioral issues like impulsivity and poor self-regulation.
• Altered reward and risk processing may underlie these behavioral disruptions.
• Decision-making involves complex processes, including learning value and utilizing it.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review literature on childhood adversity's impact on reward and risk decision-making.
• To determine if adversity alters learning about value information.
• To assess how adversity affects the use of value information in decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review.
• Analysis of studies examining reward and risk decision-making in children with adverse experiences.
• Synthesis of findings on value learning and decision implementation.

Main Results:

• Childhood adversity significantly impacts decision-making processes.
• Adversity primarily affects the prioritization of risk avoidance.
• Individuals with histories of adversity tend to devalue rewards.

Conclusions:

• Childhood adversity alters fundamental aspects of decision-making.
• The findings highlight specific deficits in risk-reward processing.
• Understanding these alterations is crucial for interventions addressing behavioral issues stemming from adversity.