Childhood trauma exposure is associated with memory deficits specifically, not with attentional or organizational impairments, in healthy adults¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2010 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q1 i? The higher error rate in the Spatial Working Memory task in subjects with higher levels of physical neglect or emotional abuse presumably reflects a pure memory deficit rather than attentional or organizational problems. → Majer M 2010

Evidence¶

Majer M 2010¶

Majer M, Nater UM, Lin J-MS, Capuron L, Reeves WC. (2010). Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study. BMC Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2377-10-61

q1 · i? · associational · r2

The authors' interpretation of their pilot study findings, reasoning that the higher error rate "presumably reflects a pure memory deficit" because attentional and organizational measures showed no associations.

"Therefore the higher error rate in the Spatial Working Memory task in subjects with higher levels of physical neglect or emotional abuse presumably reflects a pure memory deficit in these subjects."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Adverse Experiences — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Childhood trauma exposure is not significantly associated with executive function, psychomotor speed, or sustained attention measures in healthy adults — reports the opposite
Emotional abuse exposure is associated with more double errors in the Spatial Working Memory test in healthy adults — related
Physical neglect exposure is associated with prolonged latency for correct responses in the Pattern Recognition Memory test in healthy adults — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Physical neglect exposure is associated with more double errors in the Spatial Working Memory test in healthy adults — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Sexual abuse and physical neglect exposure are negatively associated with academic achievement (WRAT-3) scores in healthy adults — related
Memory deficits associated with childhood trauma in healthy adults are not secondary to psychiatric or medical illness — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`trauma-memory-specific-deficit`
`title`	`Childhood trauma exposure is associated with memory deficits specifically, not with attentional or organizational impairments, in healthy adults`
`description`	`Childhood trauma exposure is associated with memory deficits specifically, not with attentional or organizational impairments, in healthy adults`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`weak`
`newest_evidence`	`2010`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-17`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `majer-m-2010`

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