Early adversity and learning: implications for typical and atypical behavioral development.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Children who experience early adversity often develop emotion regulatory problems, but little is known about the mechanisms that mediate this relation. We tested whether general associative learning processes contribute to associations between adversity, in the form of child maltreatment, and negative behavioral outcomes.

Methods

Eighty-one participants between 12 and 17 years of age were recruited for this study and completed a probabilistic learning Task. Forty-one of these participants had been exposed to physical abuse, a form of early adversity. Forty additional participants without any known history of maltreatment served as a comparison group. All participants (and their parents) also completed portions of the Youth Life Stress Interview to understand adole

SUBMITTER: Hanson JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5474156 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature