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Associations between childhood behavior and current cognitive and emotional function in adults with irritable bowel
Julie Billing1, Daniela M Pfabigan2, Elisabeth K Steinsvik3,4
1Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. julie.billing@uib.no.
Background:
Childhood behavior may influence emotional regulation and cognitive processing capacities in adulthood. Associations between childhood behavior and present emotional and cognitive functions in adults with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are not yet established.
Objective:
To explore relationships between retrospectively reported childhood behavior and current emotional and cognitive function in adults with IBS vs healthy controls (HCs).
Methods:
Adults with IBS (n = 57) and HCs (n = 38) completed the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) to assess childhood behavior. Emotional functioning was assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and cognitive functioning with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). WURS responses were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) to identify underlying factors, which were then examined for associations with current emotional and cognitive functioning.
Results:
The WURS PCA yielded four factors: (1) Behavioral Self-Regulation and Social Functioning (2) Emotional Reactivity and Temperament, (3) Psychological Vulnerability and Distress, and (4) Academic/Cognitive Challenges. IBS patients scored significantly higher than healthy controls on Factors 3 and 4. Significant correlations were found between Factor 3 and HADS in the HC group, and between Factor 4 and RBANS in the IBS group.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that IBS patients report more childhood psychological vulnerability and academic/cognitive challenges than controls, and that these retrospectively reported behaviors show distinct associations with adult cognitive functioning. The findings suggest that developmental trajectories, such as neurocognitive traits and early stress-related mechanisms, contribute to the heterogeneity of IBS.
Trial Registration:
The project is registered at www.
Clinicaltrials:
gov (#NCT04296552), first submitted 2020.03.04.
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