A substantial body of research demonstrates that experiences of trauma are associated with disruptions in learning processes. Specifically, research shows altered nonassociative and associative learning in individuals who report traumatic experiences. The combination of trauma and altered learning also confers risk for negative health and mental health outcomes. One subtype of trauma that receives less attention in terms of its association with learning processes is exposure to violence (ETV)-witnessing violence, hearing gunfire, and/or being the victim of violence. Preliminary evidence shows that ETV is related to disruptions in nonassociative and associative learning processes, but these studies did not use direct and objective measures of learning. Additionally, research documents a robust relationship between ETV and violent behavior, but there has been no work examining whether it is the combination of elevated levels of ETV and learning patterns that poses a risk for engagement in violent behavior. In the present study, 164 participants completed two auditory basic learning tasks, one measuring nonassociative learning (habituation) and another measuring associative learning acquisition (classical conditioning), while skin conductance was recorded. Results indicate that individuals with higher ETV display a decreased likelihood of physiological habituation, but ETV is unrelated to associative learning acquisition. Further, the combination of higher ETV and nonhabituation predicts a greater number of violent crimes. These findings suggest that, for those with higher ETV, variations in capability for nonassociative learning may confer risk for violent behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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接触暴力和非联想学习能力会带来暴力行为的风险。

大量研究表明，创伤经历与学习过程中断有关。具体而言，研究表明，报告创伤经历的个人的非联想和联想学习发生了变化。创伤和学习改变的结合还赋予负面健康和心理健康后果的风险。在与学习过程的联系方面受到较少关注的一种创伤亚型是暴露于暴力（ETV）-目击者的暴力，听炮火和/或成为暴力的受害者。初步证据表明，ETV与非联想和联想学习过程的中断有关，但这些研究并未使用直接和客观的学习方法。此外，研究表明ETV与暴力行为之间存在牢固的关系，但目前尚无任何工作来检查是否由于ETV水平升高和学习模式的结合而构成参与暴力行为的风险。在本研究中，164名参与者完成了两项听觉基础学习任务，其中一项测量非联想学习（习惯），另一项测量联想学习（经典条件），同时记录了皮肤电导。结果表明，具有较高ETV的人表现出降低的生理习惯性可能性，但ETV与关联学习习性无关。此外，较高的ETV和不居住权的结合预示着更多的暴力犯罪。这些发现表明，对于那些拥有较高ETV的人来说，非联想学习能力的变化可能会带来暴力行为的风险。