The Effect of Childhood Trauma on Temporal Memory in Adulthood
Session Title
Poster Session 1
Faculty Mentor
Tara Collins, Ph.D.
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Childhood trauma has been shown to have a significant impact on cognitive ability and memory in adults. Our initial research question was concerned with identifying the future implications of childhood trauma on memory during adulthood. Before we began collecting data, we hypothesized that enduring more significant trauma as a child would have a negative impact on temporal memory, compared to those who did not experience any traumatic events during childhood. In order to collect data in an effective manner, we used an online survey to sample students from the undergraduate program of a university in addition to using social media to collect participants. In total, we had 61 participants that completed the survey online within the one-week period. After that we interpreted our results and we found that there was a significant negative correlation between childhood trauma and temporal memory, specifically a link between emotional abuse and memory. This implies that participants who experienced emotional abuse during their childhood are more prone to forgetfulness in their adult life. We experienced some limitations during this study that include: the lack of time given to conduct the experiment, leading to a small sample size and the bias of our sample is not ideal. In the future we hope to have a larger, more diverse sample size and a longer duration to take the survey. We believe this information would contribute greatly to identifying possible therapy options to specifically help victims of abuse.
Course Assignment
PSYC 302 – Collins
Previously Presented/Performed?
2023 Southeastern Psychological Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 2023 | Winthrop University Showcase of Winthrop University Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, Rock Hill, SC, April 2023
Type of Presentation
Poster presentation
Start Date
15-4-2023 12:00 PM
The Effect of Childhood Trauma on Temporal Memory in Adulthood
Childhood trauma has been shown to have a significant impact on cognitive ability and memory in adults. Our initial research question was concerned with identifying the future implications of childhood trauma on memory during adulthood. Before we began collecting data, we hypothesized that enduring more significant trauma as a child would have a negative impact on temporal memory, compared to those who did not experience any traumatic events during childhood. In order to collect data in an effective manner, we used an online survey to sample students from the undergraduate program of a university in addition to using social media to collect participants. In total, we had 61 participants that completed the survey online within the one-week period. After that we interpreted our results and we found that there was a significant negative correlation between childhood trauma and temporal memory, specifically a link between emotional abuse and memory. This implies that participants who experienced emotional abuse during their childhood are more prone to forgetfulness in their adult life. We experienced some limitations during this study that include: the lack of time given to conduct the experiment, leading to a small sample size and the bias of our sample is not ideal. In the future we hope to have a larger, more diverse sample size and a longer duration to take the survey. We believe this information would contribute greatly to identifying possible therapy options to specifically help victims of abuse.
