Do the Effects of Early Severe Deprivation on Cognition Persist Into Early Adolescence? Findings From the English and Romanian Adoptees Study

Beckett, Celia; Maughan, Barbara; Rutter, Michael; Castle, Jenny; Colvert, Emma; Groothues, Christine; Kreppner, Jana; Stevens, Suzanne; O’Connor, Thomas G.; Sonuga‐Barke, Edmund

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00898.x

Cited by 325 publications

(304 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…These reductions in performance were significant above and beyond the effects of early deprivation on global IQ, which have been noted in this study and previously reported in similar samples (40,41). Although several studies have documented reduced EF performance in PI children (11)(12)(13)(14)(15), this is the youngest age (2.5-4 y old) and the soonest postadoption timing (1 y after adoption) to document lower EF performance using observational laboratory data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Associations between early life adversity and executive function in children adopted internationally from orphanages

Hostinar

Stellern

Schaefer

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

199

138

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Executive function (EF) abilities are increasingly recognized as an important protective factor for children experiencing adversity, promoting better stress and emotion regulation as well as social and academic adjustment. We provide evidence that early life adversity is associated with significant reductions in EF performance on a developmentally sensitive battery of laboratory EF tasks that measured cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control. Animal models also suggest that early adversity has a negative impact on the development of prefrontal cortex-based cognitive functions. In this study, we report EF performance 1 y after adoption in 2.5-to 4-y-old children who had experienced institutional care in orphanages overseas compared with a group of age-matched nonadopted children. To our knowledge, this is the youngest age and the soonest after adoption that reduced EF performance has been shown using laboratory measures in this population. EF reductions in performance were significant above and beyond differences in intelligence quotient. Within the adopted sample, current EF was associated with measures of early deprivation after controlling for intelligence quotient, with less time spent in the birth family before placement in an institution and lower quality of physical/social care in institutions predicting poorer performance on the EF battery.I t has been argued that early experiences have an impact on neurobehavioral development, for good or ill, and thus influence lifelong health and disease (1). The search for protective processes in the individual that may reduce the impact of early adversity has begun to identify executive functions (EFs) as one candidate domain for intervention (2). EFs are a set of higher order cognitive processes that allow individuals to engage in planning and conscious, goal-directed problem solving (3). In children, EF is related to emotion regulation (4), conscience and moral development (5, 6), and math and literacy ability in kindergarten (7), and it is also predictive of later social and academic competence (8, 9). It is believed that EF may play an especially important role in adverse circumstances because of its role in balancing emotional arousal and cognitive processing (10). Thus, understanding the development of EF in children who experience early adversity may provide avenues for promoting their resilience.Unfortunately, this factor that could help buffer children living in adverse rearing environments has also been shown to be impaired in these children. For instance, there is accumulating evidence that psychosocial deprivation in the form of being raised in an institution is associated with reduced performance in a variety of EF domains assessed years after adoption into an enriched family environment (11-15). Studies of children experiencing early adversity cannot definitively attribute reduced EF performance to their early experiences because of their frequent coexposure to multiple other prenatal and postnatal risk factors that stunt physical g...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Associations between early life adversity and executive function in children adopted internationally from orphanages

Hostinar

Stellern

Schaefer

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

199

138

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“…The lack of a stable caregiver is a stressor in human infant development (49), with institutionalized children showing increased anxiety and disrupted socio-emotional functioning (27)(28)(29)(30)(49)(50)(51). In nonhuman primates, social deprivation studies have similarly demonstrated the role of species-typical maternal care in the development of cognitive and socio-emotional functioning (31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Socially deprived children demonstrate poor emotional and social competence, including lower sympathetic concern, increased risk for psychiatric disorders, and enlarged amygdala volumes, indicative of high anxiety (27)(28)(29)(30). Although adoptive care can mitigate these negative effects, orphaned children typically show lasting socio-emotional disruptions (30).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of socio-emotional competence in bonobos

Clay

Waal

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Social and emotional skills are tightly interlinked in human development, and both are negatively impacted by disrupted social development. The same interplay between social and emotional skills, including expressions of empathy, has received scant attention in other primates however, despite the growing interest in caring, friendships, and the fitness benefits of social skills. Here we examine the development of socio-emotional competence in juvenile bonobos (Pan paniscus) at a sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focusing on the interplay between various skills, including empathy-related responding. Most subjects were rehabilitated orphans, but some were born at the sanctuary and mother-reared there. We observed how juveniles with different rearing backgrounds responded to stressful events, both when the stress affected themselves (e.g., a lost fight) or others (e.g., witnessing the distress of others). The main dependent variable was the consolation of distressed parties by means of calming body contact. As in children, consolation was predicted by overall social competence and effective emotion regulation, as reflected in the speed of recovery from self-distress and behavioral measures of anxiety. Juveniles more effective at self-regulation were more likely to console others in distress, and such behavior was more typical of mother-reared juveniles than orphans. These results highlight the interplay between the development of social and emotional skills in our ape relatives and the importance of the mother-offspring bond in shaping socio-emotional competence.social deprivation | sympathetic concern | emotional control | personal distress S ocio-emotional competence encompasses an array of skills, such as successfully forming and maintaining social relationships, behaving appropriately in social situations, being sensitive to the emotions of others, and effectively managing one's own emotions (1). Emotion regulation (ER) is an essential part of socio-emotional competence and is defined as the process of modifying, inhibiting, evaluating, and monitoring internal states and reactions to enable an individual to adaptively respond to arousing situations so as to achieve individual goals (1, 2). Throughout development, social and emotional skills are tightly interconnected and "people who are unable to modulate the intensity and duration of their internal emotional responses and emotionally driven behavior are likely to be physiologically overaroused and to behave in ways that do not foster constructive social interactions" (3).Studies of child development show that effectively managing one's own emotions allows for greater empathy with others, including caring responses known as sympathetic concern (4-6).

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“…Percebe-se que esse resultado possivelmente reflete o fato de que hoje há uma maior difusão de informações acerca do desenvolvimento infantil e do valor do convívio com a família, no processo de socialização primária da criança e formação do apego. Esse acesso à informação pode ocorrer não apenas em atividades de capacitação profissional, mas inclusive por meio da mídia e outros meios que procuram demonstrar o quanto pode ser nociva a separação ou a perda para a criança da figura dos pais e demais familiares, mesmo quando o distanciamento é temporário 17,18 .…”

Section: Percepções Das Educadoras Acerca Da Criança Em Acolhimento Iunclassified

“…Embora a sua existência seja reconhecida por especialistas 9,17,18 , o estresse gerado pela imperiosa necessidade de se adequar à realidade apresentada pelo abrigo provém justamente do fato de que a criança institucionalizada acaba por ter que lidar com situações que se revestem de estranhamento e despertam sentimentos de insegurança difíceis de serem aplacados. A criança institucionalizada experimenta, assim, a chamada separação total (noite e dia), sendo muitas vezes levada até a instituição sem qualquer preparo anterior.…”

Section: Percepções Das Educadoras Acerca Da Criança Em Acolhimento Iunclassified

Percepção de educadores de abrigo: o seu trabalho e a criança institucionalizada

Magalhães

Costa

Cavalcante

2011

J. Hum. Growth Dev.

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Educadores de abrigo: seu trabalho e a criança institucionalizada Rev Bras Crescimento Desenvolvimento Hum. 2011; 21( Palavras-chave: criança; abrigo. ABSTRACT:The aim of this article is to study the perception of shelter care educators regarding the work performed by them as well as their effect on the institutionalized children under their care. Questionnaires were administered to 102 educators working in the largest shelter care facility in Belem during the period from 2004 to 2006. The results indicated that in the educator's view, in general service was satisfactory, and whereas basic physical needs were being met, provisions for affective and intellectual growth were not adequate. In particular, children in these facilities had little privacy, nor were they afforded sufficient individual attention. Furthermore, the educator's work appeared to exert minimal influence on the children's cognitive and emotional development. Such information may be useful for formulating more effective pedagogical policies, emphasizing a more integrated link between child care and education.

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Do the Effects of Early Severe Deprivation on Cognition Persist Into Early Adolescence? Findings From the English and Romanian Adoptees Study

Cited by 325 publications

References 67 publications

Associations between early life adversity and executive function in children adopted internationally from orphanages

Associations between early life adversity and executive function in children adopted internationally from orphanages

Development of socio-emotional competence in bonobos

Percepção de educadores de abrigo: o seu trabalho e a criança institucionalizada

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