Working for the future: parentally deprived Nigerian Children have enhanced working memory ability

Tochukwu Nweze · Mary Basil Nwoke · Juliet Ifeoma Nwufo · Richard Ikechukwu Aniekwu · Florian Lange

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Child Welfare and Adoption Child Abuse and Trauma Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The dominant view based on the deficit model of developmental psychopathology is that early adverse rearing impairs cognition. In contrast, an emerging evolutionary-developmental model argues that individuals exposed to early-life stress may have improved cognitive abilities that are adapted to harsh environments. We set out to test this hypothesis by examining cognitive functions in parentally deprived children in Nigeria. METHODS: Cognitive performance was compared between 53 deprived children who currently live in institutional homes and foster families and 51 nondeprived control participants. We used a multifaceted neurocognitive test battery for the assessment of inhibition, set-shifting and working memory. RESULTS: Results showed that the deprived and nondeprived group did not significantly differ in their performance on set-shifting and inhibition tasks. Conversely, the deprived group performed significantly better than the nondeprived group in the working memory task. DISCUSSION: We interpret the enhanced working memory ability of the deprived group as a correlate of its ecological relevance. In Nigeria, underprivileged children may need to rely to a larger extent on working memory abilities to attain success through academic work. This study provides further evidence that exposure to early adversity does not necessarily impair cognitive functions but can even enhance it under some conditions and in some domains.

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References

2011Interventions Shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4 to 12 Years Old 2011OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences 2008Individual differences in executive functions are almost entirely genetic in origin.2009Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment 2006Not All Executive Functions Are Related to Intelligence 2017Beyond Risk and Protective Factors: An Adaptation-Based Approach to Resilience 2010Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Deprivation in Postinstitutionalized Children 2015Cognitive adaptations to stressful environments: When childhood adversity enhances adult executive function.

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2021Associations of Early-Life Threat and Deprivation With Executive Functioning in Childhood and Adolescence 2022The effects of early life adversity on children’s mental health and cognitive functioning 2020The Hidden Talents Approach: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges 2021Adaptation in the face of adversity: Decrements and enhancements in children's cognitive control behavior following early caregiving instability

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