A Study Of The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Executive Function Among College Students

Executive functions(EF)is a psychological process which an individual consciously controls his or her thoughts and actions.It is one important factor of mental health.It is directly related to cognitive acts such as planning,conceptualizing,abs tract thinking,decision-making,implementing feedback,scheduling of events,monitoring,and the capacity to consciously control thoughts.Some researchers argue that the EF consists of three main subsystems: inhibitory control,cognitive flexibility,and working memory.Childhood and adolescence are important periods for the development of EF.Living environment,nutritional status,familial relations,and school education are known to affect the development of EF.This study was to investigate the if the adverse childhood experiences of college students have a effects on their executive functions,such as inhibitory,cognitive flexibility,and working memory.Study 1 was to investigate incidence rate of adverse childhood experiences among college students.Information was gathered from the students through adverse childhood experiences(ACE)questionnaires.At last,it came to conclusions: the incidence of adverse childhood experiences was 41.95%.Study 2 was to investigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences of college students on the inhibitory,cognitive flexibility,and working memory.At last,it came to conclusions: inhibitory and cognitive flexibility is significantly influenced by adverse childhood experiences of college students.Study 3 was to investigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences on the inhibitory ability of college students.At last,it came to conclusions: the ACE group have to pay more psychological resources on inhibitory and ACE has a negative influence on the inhibitory ability of negative emotions of college students.