This Short Article reports a replication of prior research suggesting that children from high-stress environments may exhibit enhanced memory for social stimuli. We tested children from two Mozambican communities ( n = 124): Nhandar, a rural area historically marked by poverty and paramilitary control, and Gorongosa, a comparatively lower-stress town. Using the same short-term and working memory tasks as the original study in Italy, we found that Nhandar children outperformed their peers on both tasks. These findings provide cross-cultural support for the idea that adversity may shape memory development in context-sensitive, adaptive ways. • Children growing up in adversity may develop enhanced social memory skills. • Cross-cultural evidence required to test this idea is lacking. • This study replicates prior research from Italy in a new context in Mozambique. • Children from a more high-stress rural area outperformed urban peers on social memory. • Results are consistent with core predictions of the Hidden Talents Model.
Paone et al. (Sat,) studied this question.