Maltreatment Related Trauma Symptoms Affect Academic Achievement through Cognitive Functioning: A Preliminary Examination in Japan

Child abuse and neglect could have some deleterious impacts on both intellectual and academic performance of school students. The aim of this study was to examine relationships among child maltreatment, trauma symptoms, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement. Data were collected from child guidance centers, where maltreated children were substantiated, assessed, evaluated, protected, and treated clinically. The selection criteria for subjects included Japanese children (1) who had a history of maltreatment; (2) whose IQs were measured using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children second edition (KABC-II); and (3) whose traumatic stress was evaluated using the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children alternate version (TSCC-A). Covariance structure analysis showed the model that explains the relations of trauma symptom (measured by TSCC-A) on academic achievement (measured by KABC-II) as being intervened by cognitive functioning (measured by KABC-II).