Childhood trauma, cognitive control, and psychopathology in transitional-age youth: A mediation study
7 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Developmental Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium; Department of Psychiatry for Infant, Child, Adolescent and Youth, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), Belgium; Corresponding author at: Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium.
- 2Laboratory of Developmental Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium; Department of Psychiatry for Infant, Child, Adolescent and Youth, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), Belgium
- 3Department of Psychiatry for Infant, Child, Adolescent and Youth, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), Belgium; Neuropsychology and Speech Therapy Department, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), Belgium
- 4Psychiatry Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann, Brussels, Belgium
- 5Laboratory of Developmental Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium; Mental Health Service at Université Libre de Bruxelles (SSM-ULB), Belgium; Faculty of Psychological Sciences and Education, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
- 6Faculty of Psychological Sciences and Education, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
- 7Neuropsychology and Speech Therapy Department, Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (H.U.B.), Belgium; Faculty of Psychological Sciences and Education, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
Abstract
Background: Transitional-age youth (TAY), 15–25 years, represent a risk period for psychiatric disorders. Childhood trauma is a broad, transdiagnostic vulnerability factor, but pathways linking early adversity to psychopathology remain unclear. This study investigated whether cognitive systems were associated with the relationship between childhood trauma and TAY psychopathology, and whether these associations differ between clinical (CP) and non-clinical (NCP) populations. Methods: This multicenter case-control study included 17-year-old youth from clinical and community settings in Brussels (Belgium). The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04333797 ). Childhood trauma (CTQ) was modeled as the predictor, TAY psychopathology (YSR) as the outcome, and group status as a moderator. Cognitive systems variables, assessed though self-reported and neuropsychological measures, were tested as potential mediators. Mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation were estimated using PROCESS macro in SPSS with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Results: The final sample comprised 242 TAY (69.7% female; CP = 126; NCP = 116). CP reported higher CTQ and YSR scores than NCP. Only self-reported cognitive control (BRIEF) was associated with the CTQ-YSR relationship in both groups, with significant indirect effects (CP: b = 0.10, 95% CI [0.02, 0.19]; NCP: b = 0.14, 95% CI [0.13, 0.24]). Moderated-mediation analyses showed no evidence of group differences in indirect effects. The final model explained 66% of YSR variance ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: Childhood trauma was associated with TAY psychopathology, and self-reported cognitive control was associated with this relationship across CP and NCP. Although causal inference is limited by cross-sectional design, these findings suggest that self-reported cognitive control may warrant further investigation as a transdiagnostic correlate in future longitudinal and intervention studies on the trauma-psychopathology relationship.
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BibTeX
@article{marchini2026childhood,
title = {{Childhood trauma, cognitive control, and psychopathology in transitional-age youth: A mediation study}},
author = {Simone Marchini and Joana Reis and Ella Ben-Shaool and Gloria Zaina and Charles Kornreich and Hélène Nicolis and Christophe Leys and Hichem Slama and Véronique Delvenne},
journal = {Comprehensive Psychiatry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152745},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152745},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Childhood trauma, cognitive control, and psychopathology in transitional-age youth: A mediation study
AU - Simone Marchini
AU - Joana Reis
AU - Ella Ben-Shaool
AU - Gloria Zaina
AU - Charles Kornreich
AU - Hélène Nicolis
AU - Christophe Leys
AU - Hichem Slama
AU - Véronique Delvenne
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/24
JO - Comprehensive Psychiatry
DO - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152745
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2026.152745
AB - Background: Transitional-age youth (TAY), 15–25 years, represent a risk period for psychiatric disorders. Childhood trauma is a broad, transdiagnostic vulnerability factor, but pathways linking early adversity to psychopathology remain unclear. This study investigated whether cognitive systems were associated with the relationship between childhood trauma and TAY psychopathology, and whether these associations differ between clinical (CP) and non-clinical (NCP) populations. Methods: This multicenter case-control study included 17-year-old youth from clinical and community settings in Brussels (Belgium). The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT04333797 ). Childhood trauma (CTQ) was modeled as the predictor, TAY psychopathology (YSR) as the outcome, and group status as a moderator. Cognitive systems variables, assessed though self-reported and neuropsychological measures, were tested as potential mediators. Mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation were estimated using PROCESS macro in SPSS with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Results: The final sample comprised 242 TAY (69.7% female; CP = 126; NCP = 116). CP reported higher CTQ and YSR scores than NCP. Only self-reported cognitive control (BRIEF) was associated with the CTQ-YSR relationship in both groups, with significant indirect effects (CP: b = 0.10, 95% CI [0.02, 0.19]; NCP: b = 0.14, 95% CI [0.13, 0.24]). Moderated-mediation analyses showed no evidence of group differences in indirect effects. The final model explained 66% of YSR variance ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: Childhood trauma was associated with TAY psychopathology, and self-reported cognitive control was associated with this relationship across CP and NCP. Although causal inference is limited by cross-sectional design, these findings suggest that self-reported cognitive control may warrant further investigation as a transdiagnostic correlate in future longitudinal and intervention studies on the trauma-psychopathology relationship.
SN - 0010-440X
SN - 1532-8384
ER -