Childhood Maltreatment Impacts Cognitive Function in Emerging Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Extant literature demonstrated mixed findings on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and executive function. This meta-analysis aimed to consolidate the current findings and investigate the long-term influences of child maltreatment on cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory in emerging adults. PsycINFO (EBSCO), ERIC (EBSCO), ERIC (ProQuest), COCHRANE, and MEDLINE were searched to identify a final sample of 17 studies. Inclusion criteria were studies that recruited emerging adults, measured childhood maltreatment, and included specific measurements of cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. Subgroup analyses were performed among the three domains of executive function. To account for covariates and dependency, moderator analyses were computed to test the relative magnitude and direction of effect sizes among the categories of executive function. The analyses showed that emerging adults with a history of childhood maltreatment exhibited worse cognitive flexibility (g = -0.30, SE = 0.08, p = .0002), and inhibitory control (g = -0.10, SE = 0.05, p = .04), as compared to the non-abused emerging adults. Working memory between the abused emerging adults as a child and the non-abused was comparable (g = 0.26, SE = 0.17, p = .13). Moderators analyses, controlling for peer review status and age of participants, consistently displayed that the effect size of child maltreatment on working memory to be significantly more positive than that on cognitive flexibility (univariate moderators model: b = 0.31, SE = 0.13, p = .02; Correlated and hierarchical effects model: b = 0.30, SE = 0.12, p = .02) whereas the effect of child maltreatment on cognitive flexibility did not significantly differ from that of inhibitory control (univariate moderators model: b = 0.15, SE = 0.11, p = .18; Correlated and hierarchical effects model: b = -0.01, SE = 0.10, p = .88). Experiences of childhood maltreatment impaired cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control but preserved working memory among emerging adults. The results supported both the deficits model on the adverse effects of childhood maltreatment and the adaptation model on maintaining an optimal level of working memory despite harsh and difficult upbringing.