The Relationship Between Trauma Exposure and Memory Impairment: The Mediating Effect of Anxiety, Depression, and Sleep Disturbance

Abstract

The impact of trauma on individuals can have a profound and lasting effect on wellbeing. Ongoing research in the field is interested in the neurocognitive impact of trauma, including its effect on memory. However, there are some discrepancies regarding the direction of various effects found. While some studies find that trauma does not impact memory at all or they attribute the effects to mediators, others have found there to be an independent effect. Furthermore, few studies have examined the relationship between trauma exposure and memory impairment in youth. The current study aims to provide further clarification to the literature by analyzing longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study and hypothesizes that trauma exposure is associated with episodic memory impairment, and that anxious-depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances mediate this relationship.