Childhood Adversity and the Pace of Brain Maturation Across Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Childhood adversity has been associated with differences in brain structure, yet the nature of these relationships across development, particularly in relation to the pace of brain maturation, is unclear. Thus, it is critical to better understand which adversities are most strongly associated with brain maturation, which brain regions show maturation differences, and when these relationships emerge during development. This systematic review of 37 studies evaluated associations between longitudinal structural brain maturation and a range of childhood adversities (i.e., household socioeconomic disadvantage, maternal psychopathology, parenting behaviors, adversity within the home environment, childhood maltreatment, stressful life events, neighborhood disadvantage, and environmental pollutants). When significant, household socioeconomic disadvantage was consistently associated with slower overall growth and faster cortical thinning; however, other findings were mixed across brain regions and developmental windows. Results identified adolescence as a commonly studied developmental period for adversity and maturation, and highlighted the need for further investigation during infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Maturation trajectories (i.e., accelerated or delayed) associated with adversity remained largely unclear due to methodological limitations (e.g., narrow age ranges, individual variation in normative trajectories). To address these limitations, future studies should incorporate methods that examine longer periods of development, enhance result specificity (i.e., account for intracranial volume, sex, and extraneous adverse experiences), and improve cohesion in the literature (e.g., consistent adversity terminology and measurement). Further clarification of the nature of associations between brain maturation and experiences of adversity could inform clinical interventions to promote healthy brain development, with implications for lifelong cognition and socioemotional well-being.