Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms are Negatively Associated with Executive Functioning: Evidence from Colombian Internally Displaced Adolescents by Political Conflict

We examined the impact of mental health issues on cognitive and executive skills in 135 internally displaced adolescents, which were randomly selected from the Colombian victims' register. Outcomes included scores from standardized tests for cognitive ability and executive functioning. Predictors were self-reported measures of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicidal ideation. Covariables included traumatic events, displacement level, and parental occupation. Linear models assessed the associations between outcomes and predictors, as well as the moderating effects of covariables. Results indicated that PTSD was negatively associated with executive functioning, with a significantly stronger effect among adolescents whose parents were unemployed or in informal jobs. PTSD was marginally associated with cognitive ability. No associations were found for depression or suicidal ideation. These findings underscore the need to prioritize the most vulnerable adolescents and strengthen executive functioning, which supports long-term development and mitigates the negative effects of traumatic experiences such as internal displacement.