Maltreatment impairs executive functioning in childhood and adolescence – a multilevel meta-analysis

Child maltreatment (CM) represents a key risk factor for a wide range of maladaptive developmental outcomes. In particular, child abuse and neglect are thought to exert detrimental effects on neurocognitive development, including impairments in executive functions (EF) during childhood. We conducted a preregistered multilevel meta-analysis to examine differential associations between CM dimensions and core EF domains: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Based on 59 studies with 13,022 participants, our results indicate a medium-sized association (g = 0.43) between overall CM and EF, although high levels of heterogeneity were observed both within and between studies. While differential outcomes as a function of EF domains may partly explain this heterogeneity, maltreatment dimensions (i.e., abuse vs. neglect) did not account for it. These findings suggest a non-specific association between CM dimensions and EF domains, potentially driven by shared attachment-related characteristics of CM.