title: Childhood trauma and general cognitive ability: Roles of minimization/denial and gender.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of minimization and gender on the interaction between childhood trauma and general cognitive ability. The study included 345 students. The data were obtained via an information form, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Raven's standard progressive matrices (RSPM). The mean CTQ total score and the mean sexual abuse, physical, and emotional neglect subscale scores of the male students were significantly higher than those of the female students (p<0.05). The mean minimization score of the female students was greater than that of the male students (p<0.05). However, among the female students with minimization scores of 3, there was a moderate and significant negative correlation between the CTQ and RSPM scores (r=-0.533, p<0.05). This study found that general cognitive ability was influenced by childhood trauma among female students with higher minimization/neglect scores. The results of the current study suggest that ignoring the effects of minimization may be a misleading factor for determining the gender ratio of childhood trauma and evaluating its effect on long-term cognitive functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey. Electronic address: drgulizaksoy@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Derya Guliz
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Mert
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelleci
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esengul
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mizrak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas 58140, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nesim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kugu
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000069586:Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003717:Denial, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childhood trauma; Gender; General cognitive ability; Minimization