= 1.49 years) from two environments in Naples (Italy): Scampia, a neighborhood characterized by chronic socioeconomic hardship, and Pozzuoli, a comparatively lower-stress area. In Part 1, which used conventional abstract stimuli, Scampia children performed similarly to the Pozzuoli control group. In Part 2, which used social stimuli, Scampia children outperformed Pozzuoli peers in both STM and WM. These findings highlight the complexity of memory development, showing that children from high-stress environments can exhibit intact or even enhanced skills that are functionally relevant to the challenges of their surroundings.
Paone et al. (Wed,) studied this question.