The impact of childhood psychological maltreatment on self-referential and mother-referential processing: evidence from perception and memory

While experiences of psychological maltreatment during childhood may subjectively reduce the emotional connection between self and mother, they may not impair cognitive differentiation between self- and mother-related information at the perceptual and memory levels, nor do they exhibit a negativity preference at the memory level. This study provides new evidence for understanding the mechanisms through which childhood psychological maltreatment influences self-cognitive functions in adulthood.