ABSTRACT
Childhood exposure to traumatic events has significant effects on longterm cognitive development, as evidenced by negative associations with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores, language development and academic achievement. [1, 3] The impact of timing of exposure is not well understood, though current knowledge regarding brain development suggests that the type, magnitude and persistence of effects depends on when in development exposure occurs. [1, 4] In early development, particularly from birth to age 2 years, the brain undergoes rapid growth and reorganisation, a process heavily influenced by environmental factors. [5, 6] Structural and functional reorganisation that occurs during this sensitive period may become permanent, influencing subsequent development, even after environmental conditions change. Therefore, early childhood trauma may
have considerable and enduring effects on cognitive development, though empirical evidence in this area is needed. [1]
The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of a specifi c type of early trauma exposure, interpersonal trauma (IPT) involving the primary caregiver, on child cognitive outcomes. IPT, including maltreatment and interparental violence, is a particularly potent stressor for young children, given the critical role of the attachment relationship in shaping the developing nervous system. [7] Furthermore, maltreatment and interparental violence are often chronic events.1 Though previous research has associated such exposures with impairments in cognitive domains (eg, IQ, executive functioning, reading and math abilities) [1-3 8-10] and brain structure (eg, reduced volumes of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and corpus callosum) and functioning (eg, event-related potential and electroencephalography abnormalities), [1, 4, 6] the immediate and long-term effects of such exposures specifi cally in the fi rst years of life have not been well researched.
