Childhood Maltreatment and Its Association with Cognitive Ability in Young People Suspected to Be at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis

Introduction: Childhood maltreatment is associated with both reduced cognitive functioning and the development of psychotic symptoms. However, the specific relationship between childhood maltreatment, cognitive abilities and (pre)psychotic symptoms remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and tasks of verbal memory and processing speed in a help-seeking sample of an early detection of psychosis service. Methods: A total of 274 participants consisting of 177 clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis subjects and 97 clinical controls (CC) with subthreshold CHR underwent a battery of neurocognitive assessments measuring the latent variables verbal memory and processing speed. Additionally, the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) was administered to assess varying childhood maltreatment subtypes. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine associations between verbal memory, processing speed, and maltreatment subtypes. Other factors in the model were age, gender, clinical group (CHR or CC), and the presence of different CHR criteria. Results: Physical abuse was associated with lower scores in verbal memory and processing speed. The explained variance in the SEM reached up to 9.5% for verbal memory and 24.9% for processing speed. Both latent variables were each associated with the presence of cognitive-perceptive basic symptoms. Lower verbal memory was additionally associated with the clinical high-risk group, and processing speed capacity was associated with higher age and female gender. Conclusion: Childhood physical abuse in particular was associated with poorer performance on verbal memory and processing speed across both groups of CHR and CC with subthreshold CHR symptoms. This adds to the current literature on reduced cognitive abilities when childhood maltreatment had occurred, albeit subtype dependent. Our findings, together with high prevalence rates of childhood maltreatment in patients with psychosis or CHR states, along with the presence of cognitive deficits in these patients, highlight the importance of not only assessing cognition but also childhood maltreatment in managing these patients. Future research should investigate the specific biological mechanisms of childhood maltreatment on verbal memory and processing speed in CHR subjects, as neurobiological alterations might explain the underlying mechanisms.