Associations between psychological distress symptoms and cognitive function among trauma‐exposed women: Moderating role of the developmental period of trauma exposure

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related internalizing symptoms, including anxiety and depression, are associated with emotional-cognitive alterations. These alterations, such as biased attentional processing and reduced emotional inhibition, are thought to contribute to persistent distress. However, these associations may vary across individuals. Developmental neuroscience suggests that the timing of trauma exposure (childhood, adolescence, adulthood) can differentially influence brain development and emotional processing. This study examined whether the developmental period of first trauma moderated the link between internalizing symptoms and emotional-cognitive alterations. Participants were 109 women exposed to interpersonal trauma (age range: 28-53 years) who completed a visual search task assessing attentional biases and an emotional go/no-go task measuring emotional inhibition. Questionnaires evaluated trauma exposure and PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Groups were based on the developmental period of participants' first trauma exposure: childhood (0-11 years; n = 38), adolescence (12-17 years; n = 32), or adulthood (≥ 18 years; n = 39). Among women first exposed in adulthood, higher anxiety symptoms were associated with slower reaction times to fearful faces, B = 140.66, p = .037. Depressive symptoms were negatively linked to emotional inhibition to angry faces among women first exposed during adolescence, B = -1.47, p = .010, and adulthood, B = -1.56, p < .001. These results highlight the importance of considering trauma timing when examining emotional-cognitive functions. By showing that these associations vary by trauma onset, this study underscores the need for developmentally informed clinical approaches to emotional dysregulation.