Abstract
Objective: High numbers of adolescents today are exposed to conflict-related trauma, with trauma-exposure being associated with adverse biopsychosocial outcomes. Here we investigated the influence of trauma-exposure and high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on cognitive functioning in trauma-related compared to neutral contexts. Method: Afghan adolescent refugees with high levels of PTSD symptomatology and non-trauma-exposed Afghan adolescent refugee controls (N 47; 43% female; aged 13–19 years, M 15.49, SD 1.40) completed a visual working memory task including affective (trauma-related) and neutral distractors. Results: Working memory capacity in the context of trauma-related distractors (and not neutral distractors) was significantly poorer in trauma-exposed refugees with high levels of PTSD when compared to non-trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of investigating posttraumatic cognitive functioning within affective contexts and suggest that affective working memory capacity may constitute a promising target for intervention.
Abstract
Objective: High numbers of adolescents today are exposed to conflict-related trauma, with trauma-exposure being associated with adverse biopsychosocial outcomes. Here we investigated the influence of trauma-exposure and high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on cognitive functioning in trauma-related compared to neutral contexts. Method: Afghan adolescent refugees with high levels of PTSD symptomatology and non-trauma-exposed Afghan adolescent refugee controls (N 47; 43% female; aged 13–19 years, M 15.49, SD 1.40) completed a visual working memory task including affective (trauma-related) and neutral distractors. Results: Working memory capacity in the context of trauma-related distractors (and not neutral distractors) was significantly poorer in trauma-exposed refugees with high levels of PTSD when compared to non-trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of investigating posttraumatic cognitive functioning within affective contexts and suggest that affective working memory capacity may constitute a promising target for intervention.
Summary
Many young people experience trauma from conflict, which can lead to negative health and social effects. This study examined how being exposed to trauma and having many symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect thinking abilities. The focus was on how these factors influence thinking when people are presented with things related to trauma, compared to neutral things.
Method
The study involved 47 Afghan adolescent refugees. Some had been exposed to trauma and had high levels of PTSD symptoms. Others had not been exposed to trauma and served as a comparison group. The participants were 13 to 19 years old, with an average age of 15.49 years; 43% were female. All participants completed a task that tested their visual working memory. This task included images that were either related to trauma or were neutral.
Results
The group of refugees who had experienced trauma and had many PTSD symptoms showed poorer working memory skills. This was specifically when they saw images related to trauma, not when they saw neutral images. The comparison group did not show this difference.
Conclusions
These results show how important it is to study how people's thinking abilities are affected by trauma, especially when they are in situations that bring up strong emotions. The findings also suggest that improving working memory in emotional contexts could be a helpful goal for treatments.
Abstract
Objective: High numbers of adolescents today are exposed to conflict-related trauma, with trauma-exposure being associated with adverse biopsychosocial outcomes. Here we investigated the influence of trauma-exposure and high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on cognitive functioning in trauma-related compared to neutral contexts. Method: Afghan adolescent refugees with high levels of PTSD symptomatology and non-trauma-exposed Afghan adolescent refugee controls (N 47; 43% female; aged 13–19 years, M 15.49, SD 1.40) completed a visual working memory task including affective (trauma-related) and neutral distractors. Results: Working memory capacity in the context of trauma-related distractors (and not neutral distractors) was significantly poorer in trauma-exposed refugees with high levels of PTSD when compared to non-trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of investigating posttraumatic cognitive functioning within affective contexts and suggest that affective working memory capacity may constitute a promising target for intervention.
Summary
Adolescents today often experience trauma related to conflict. This kind of trauma can lead to negative physical, mental, and social effects. This study looked at how being exposed to trauma and having many symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect thinking abilities. It focused on thinking in situations that remind people of trauma compared to neutral situations.
Method
The study included Afghan adolescent refugees who had high levels of PTSD symptoms. It also included Afghan adolescent refugees who had not experienced trauma, serving as a comparison group. There were 47 participants in total, 43% of whom were female. Their ages ranged from 13 to 19 years old, with an average age of 15.49 years. All participants completed a task designed to test their visual working memory. This task included distractions that were either related to trauma or were neutral.
Results
The study found that working memory was significantly worse for refugees with high PTSD levels when they encountered trauma-related distractions. This difference was not observed with neutral distractions. The comparison group, who had not experienced trauma, did not show this decline in working memory with trauma-related distractions.
Conclusions
These results emphasize that it is important to study how thinking abilities are affected by trauma, especially in situations that are emotionally charged. The findings suggest that improving working memory in emotional contexts could be a helpful goal for interventions aimed at people with PTSD.
Abstract
Objective: High numbers of adolescents today are exposed to conflict-related trauma, with trauma-exposure being associated with adverse biopsychosocial outcomes. Here we investigated the influence of trauma-exposure and high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on cognitive functioning in trauma-related compared to neutral contexts. Method: Afghan adolescent refugees with high levels of PTSD symptomatology and non-trauma-exposed Afghan adolescent refugee controls (N 47; 43% female; aged 13–19 years, M 15.49, SD 1.40) completed a visual working memory task including affective (trauma-related) and neutral distractors. Results: Working memory capacity in the context of trauma-related distractors (and not neutral distractors) was significantly poorer in trauma-exposed refugees with high levels of PTSD when compared to non-trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of investigating posttraumatic cognitive functioning within affective contexts and suggest that affective working memory capacity may constitute a promising target for intervention.
Summary
Many young people today experience trauma from conflict, which can lead to negative health and social issues. This study looked at how trauma exposure and high levels of PTSD symptoms affect thinking skills in situations related to trauma compared to everyday situations.
Afghan adolescent refugees were included in the study. Some had high levels of PTSD symptoms from trauma exposure, while others had not experienced trauma. There were 47 participants in total, with 43% being female, and their ages ranged from 13 to 19 years old. Participants completed a memory task that included both trauma-related and neutral images.
The results showed that refugees who had experienced trauma and had high PTSD symptoms had poorer working memory when they saw trauma-related images. Their memory was not affected when they saw neutral images. This was in comparison to those who had not experienced trauma.
These findings suggest it is important to study how trauma affects thinking in situations that bring up strong emotions. Improving emotional working memory might be a helpful goal for treatments.
Abstract
Objective: High numbers of adolescents today are exposed to conflict-related trauma, with trauma-exposure being associated with adverse biopsychosocial outcomes. Here we investigated the influence of trauma-exposure and high levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on cognitive functioning in trauma-related compared to neutral contexts. Method: Afghan adolescent refugees with high levels of PTSD symptomatology and non-trauma-exposed Afghan adolescent refugee controls (N 47; 43% female; aged 13–19 years, M 15.49, SD 1.40) completed a visual working memory task including affective (trauma-related) and neutral distractors. Results: Working memory capacity in the context of trauma-related distractors (and not neutral distractors) was significantly poorer in trauma-exposed refugees with high levels of PTSD when compared to non-trauma-exposed controls. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of investigating posttraumatic cognitive functioning within affective contexts and suggest that affective working memory capacity may constitute a promising target for intervention.
Summary
Many young people today experience very stressful events. These events can cause serious problems for their bodies and minds. This study looked at how bad experiences and high levels of stress (PTSD) affect how teenagers think. It focused on how they think when faced with things that remind them of their bad experiences versus everyday things.
How the Study Was Done
The study included 47 teenage refugees from Afghanistan. Some of them had experienced very stressful events and showed strong signs of PTSD. Others had not gone through such events. The teenagers were between 13 and 19 years old. They did a memory test. This test included pictures that were either related to bad experiences or were just normal pictures.
What the Study Found
Teenagers who had experienced bad events and had strong signs of PTSD had a harder time remembering things. This was true only when the pictures reminded them of their bad experiences. Their memory was not worse when they saw normal pictures.
What This Means
These results show that it is important to study how people think after bad experiences, especially when they are reminded of those experiences. It also suggests that helping people improve their memory when faced with stressful reminders could be a good way to help them.