CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND NATURAL DISASTER EXPOSURE INTERACT TO IMPACT OLDER ADULT COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING - Poster Session 7035

Sep 29, 2026

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Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity with climate change and may be experienced as stressful or traumatic. Prior research links childhood trauma to poorer cognitive functioning in older adults, but evidence on how disasters alter this association is limited. Using Health and Retirement Study data (12,995 adults 50+, Mage 64.6), weighted regression assessed interactions between childhood adversity (0–4) and disaster exposure. The interaction corresponded to a lower cognitive function score (β=-0.25, 95%CI -0.45 to -0.05). Disaster exposure intensified the cognitive disadvantage among those with childhood adversity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Childhood adversity and natural disaster exposure

Study design and measures

Results: interaction effects

Interpretation and implications

SESSION 7035 (POSTER) CLIMATE AND AGING Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2280 CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND NATURAL DISASTER EXPOSURE INTERACT TO IMPACT OLDER ADULT COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING Karen Lawrence, and Yeon Jin Choi, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States The frequency and severity of natural disasters are increasing due to climate change; these events may be perceived as stressful or traumatic. Studies have shown that childhood trauma is associated with poorer cognitive function in older adults yet research on the impact of natural disasters on this relationship is rare. Leveraging data from the Health and Retirement Study, we investigated whether having experienced a natural disaster moderatesthe relationship between childhood adversity (range: 0–4 adversities) and cognitive function in 12,995 adults 50+ years of age [Mage=64.6, SD = 10.1]. Test scores from total word recall, serial 7’s test, and backwards counting were summed to calculate an overall cognitive function score (range: 0-27). At least one childhood adversity was experienced by 35.6% and a natural disaster by 17.9% of the sample. In a weighted regression model, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions, the interaction between childhood adversity and natural disaster exposure was associated with .25 points lower cognitive function score [β = -.25, 95%CI: -.45, -.05] . Respondents with childhood adversity had significantly lower cognitive function than those without, when exposed to a natural disaster. Among those who experienced a natural disaster, the estimated cognitive function score was 15.56 for those without childhood adversity. Those who experienced one, two, three, or four adversities had lower cognitive function at 15.17, 14.78, 14.39, and 14.00, respectively. These findings suggest that natural disaster exposure is a potential environmental stressor that can exacerbate the effects of childhood trauma on cognitive function outcomes later in life.

FAQs

What research question does the poster address?

It examines whether experiencing a natural disaster moderates the relationship between childhood adversity and cognitive functioning in older adults.

How was cognitive function measured?

Cognitive functioning was calculated as a sum of test scores from total word recall, serial 7’s test, and backwards counting, producing an overall score range from 0 to 27.

What is the main finding about the interaction effect?

In the weighted regression model, the interaction between childhood adversity and natural disaster exposure was associated with a 0.25-point lower cognitive function score (β=-0.25, 95%CI -0.45 to -0.05).

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Levi