The moderating effects of perceived control on relationships between trauma exposure in childhood and cognitive health in adulthood

Exposures to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) in childhood have been linked to changes in cognitive health in later life. Perceived control is an important psychosocial resource that may serve as a potential buffer against these deleterious effects. We hypothesized that the detrimental impact of childhood PTE exposure on cognitive health would be attenuated among those with higher perceived control.

Adults ranging from 28 to 84 years old at baseline (N = 4,512) from the Midlife in the United States study (Mage = 55.4, 54.9% female, 82.4% white) completed surveys on potentially traumatic childhood events, perceived control, and a telephone-based battery of tests measuring executive function (EF) and episodic memory (EM) in ∼2005 and ten years later in ∼2015.

Findings from multilevel models indicate that perceived control buffered the detrimental impacts of childhood PTE on cognitive health. More childhood PTE exposure was associated with a steeper rate of decline in EF among people with lower control (-1 SD; b = -0.35, SE = 0.02, p < .001) compared with people with higher control (+1 SD; b = -0.31, SE = 0.02, p < .001). In exploratory analyses, higher levels of emotional neglect were associated with worse EF only among those with lower perceived control (-1 SD; b = -0.01, SE = 0.01, p = .029). Perceived control did not moderate the effects of childhood PTE on EM (ps > .05).

A strengths-based approach is relevant for understanding the lifetime impacts of early life adversities on later life cognitive health outcomes.