Exposição a experiências adversas e seus impactos nas funções executivas de crianças: revisão integrativa da literatura

Abstract

This study consists of an integrative literature review on the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and their impact on executive function. Childhood is the period of life during which development, taken as a whole, presents a vast range of windows of opportunity for the individual’s holistic development; thus, executive functions are an important aspect of cognitive development. In the late 20th century, authors developed and investigated a set of traumatic or stressful events that they termed Adverse Childhood Experiences; following this initial study, many others began to analyze such events and their correlations with other outcomes. The present study aims to determine whether Adverse Childhood Experiences have an impact on children’s executive function. Data source: Articles were selected from the LILACS, PubMed, and Embase databases, in English and Portuguese, published between 2021 and 2026, excluding populations with neurocognitive disorders. A total of ten studies were selected for this literature review that demonstrated a clear association between the experience of Adverse Childhood Experiences and their impact on executive functions. In summary, the selected studies showed that the greater the exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences, the greater the impact on executive functions, in addition to other health outcomes. Most of the selected studies focused on follow-up analyses, conducted after the individuals had reached adulthood. The findings of this review can be used to illustrate the relevance and scarcity of studies on this topic.