A relação entre a violência e o desenvolvimento das funções executivas em crianças e adolescentes

Abstract

The experience of situations of violence with the potential to cause trauma is called victimization. Victimization against children and adolescents, according to demographic data and empirical study, has increased in recent years, becoming a social concern. Maltreatment is the type of victimization with the highest incidence in this age group, so many studies seek to investigate the relationship of this type of victimization with emotional aspects and possible impairment in cognitive functions. However, studies that seek to identify the relationship between other types of victimization, such as victimization for conventional crimes, victimization by peers, witnessed victimization and polyvictimization about executive functions in this important age group, are still scarce. Executive functions (FEs) are cognitive processes that allow the individual to exercise control and regulate the processing of information in the face of new requirements, thus it is a complex function related to adaptation to new environments. Some models suggest that FEs are a single skill that spans multiple domains; among them, working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control are named as core components. The typical development of FEs is related to the development of learning processes and academic performance. Good academic performance is related to a good verbal comprehension ability, since the adequate verbal reasoning ability is directly related to the knowledge base of children and adolescents. Given this context, it is important to study this thesis that sought to investigate whether the experience of different types of violence is directly related to losses in the development of the FEs, but it also intends to investigate whether, in addition to directly impacting the development of the FEs, the experience of different victimizations may have an indirect effect or be enhanced by their impact on verbal comprehension, which could then intensify their effect on FEs. 83 children and 73 adolescents participated in the research and the instruments used were the JVQ (identification of victimization), FDT (evaluation of FES) and WISC IV (evaluation of FEs and verbal comprehension). The results of the chapters confirmed the initial hypothesis of the thesis that sought to prove the relationship between the different types of victimization and impairments in executive functions, however with regard to polyvictimization, no significant correlations were found in either of the two groups studied. The data also pointed out that the experience of different types of violence in children causes more significant impairments in FEs. However, verbal understanding can be a protective factor for children and adolescents, victims of different victimizations.