C-50 Influence of Childhood Maltreatment on Decision-Making in Adolescents

Objective Decision-making requires weighing potential gains and losses. Adolescents who have experienced maltreatment may be more sensitive to potential gains or losses than other adolescents. The aim of these analyses was to examine trajectories of decision-making over time in adolescents based on maltreatment history and severity. Method The study included 69 adolescents 13 to 17 years old (M = 14.9). Maltreatment history and severity were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Adolescents also completed a modified Iowa Gambling Task (mIGT). Outcomes of interest were the percentage of advantageous responses and net score (measure of overall performance integrating advantageous and disadvantageous plays) for each of three blocks. Results The trajectory of performance across blocks was defined using a conditional linear growth curve model with factor loadings fixed at block 1, block 2, and block 3. Greater maltreatment severity was associated with less increase in net score over time (M = -4.453, p < .001). In contrast, abuse severity (M = 6.675, p = .002) and the presence of neglect (M = 13.058, p = .002) were associated with sharper increases in net score. A regression revealed maltreatment severity, presence of abuse, presence of neglect, and abuse severity significantly predicted the percentage of advantageous plays only during the second block of the mIGT (R2 = .180, p = .030). Conclusions This study provides evidence that maltreatment history and severity are associated with the trajectory of decision-making over time. It also provides support for the importance of examining performance trajectory and heterogeneity in maltreatment regarding cognitive processing.