Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair and Members
Nicholas Papouchis, Chair
Sara Haden
Joan Duncan
Keywords
Childhood maltreatment, Emotion dysregulation, Transient stress
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment is associated with cognitive impairments and emotion dysregulation, with prior research documenting structural changes in stress modulation in affected individuals. This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and working memory (WM), focusing on the roles of stress and emotion dysregulation. While childhood maltreatment has been linked to cognitive deficits, its specific impact on adult WM remains underexplored. It was hypothesized that childhood maltreatment would negatively affect WM. However, initial analyses found no significant relationship between childhood maltreatment and baseline WM. Post-hoc analyses revealed a positive relationship between childhood maltreatment and WM improvement over time, suggesting potential resilience or compensatory mechanisms. Consistent with prior research, childhood maltreatment was significantly associated with emotion dysregulation, reflecting disrupted development. Although it was hypothesized that emotion dysregulation would mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and WM, no evidence supported this. This indicated that WM improvement may occur independently of emotional difficulties. Stress exposure, tested as a moderator, was expected to exacerbate WM impairments but showed no effect despite a significant stress response. Attachment-related variables were also explored for potential moderating effects but yielded no significant findings. These results highlight the complex interplay among childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation, stress, and WM. They emphasize the importance of further research into resilience factors and compensatory mechanisms that may mitigate the cognitive effects of early adversity.
Recommended Citation
Veith, Serena, "Transient stress and childhood maltreatment: Unraveling their impact on working memory and emotion dysregulation" (2025). Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-. 65.
https://digitalcommons.liu.edu/brooklyn_fulltext_dis/65