The effects of severe psychosocial deprivation and foster care intervention on cognitive development at 8 years of age: findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Abstract

Background Previous reports from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project suggested that children removed from institutions and placed into intervention displayed gains in IQ relative to children randomized to remain in institutional care. Method The current report presents data from the 8 year follow-up of these children. One hundred and three of the original 136 children in the study were tested with the WISC IV. Results Results reveal continued benefit from the intervention even though many of the children in both the intervention and control groups were no longer residing in their initial placements. Gains in IQ were particularly evident for those children who remained with their intervention family. There were also modest timing effects such that children placed earlier displayed higher scores on the WISC processing speed subscale. Early placement was also a significant predictor of a profile of stable, typical IQ scores over time. Conclusion These data suggest the continued importance of early intervention and the negative effects of severe psychosocial deprivation on the development of IQ scores across early childhood.

Who Cares for Children? A Descriptive Study of Care-Related Data Available Through Global Household Surveys and How These Could Be Better Mined to Inform Policies and Services to Strengthen Family Care

“…The role of a nurturing environment on early child development, focused in particular on the specific importance of the quality of parenting and stable care-giving relationships, is well evidenced in the literature and has become central to policies aiming to improve child well-being outcomes (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000;Sonuga-Barke & Kreppner 2012). Findings about the negative impact of emotional deprivation, neglect, and institutionalization for younger children have further established the central importance of a family environment for child well-being and development (Berens & Nelson 2015;Fox et al 2011; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2012; Nelson et al 2011;Schoenmaker et al 2014;van IJzendoorn et al 2011;Roy et al 2004). In a number of studies, children raised in a range of family environments, whether with biological families or foster and adoptive families, were found to do better than children raised in institutional care in terms of physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development (Schoenmaker et al 2014;Johnson & Gunnar 2011).…”

Predictors of Parenting Stress During Early Adoptive Parenthood

“…Many studies have documented that later placement and prolonged institutionalisation are associated with more negative outcomes for children in all the main areas of development (Fox et al 2011;Miller et al 2009;Nelson et al 2007), indicating the critical importance of considering these variables in association with parenting stress. Also, parents' perceptions of their children's emotional and behavioural difficulties are positively related to parenting stress: parents who perceive more problems in their child show more stress in playing their role (Goldberg and Smith 2014;Judge 2003;Mainemer et al 1998;McGlone et al 2002;Miller et al 2009;Rijk et al 2006;Viana and Welsh 2010).…”

Commentary response: Handling long-term attrition in randomised controlled field trials: novel approaches by BEIP and a response to McCall (2011)

“…Instead, caregiving context placement at age 8 seems to particularly influence IQ at age 8 for children in our sample, as is shown in the analyses presented in our article (Fox et al, 2011).…”

“…Over and above our interest in the effects of early experience, we are mindful of the effects of subsequent life experience (i.e., post randomization) on development, and for this reason we supplemented our intent-to-treat analyses with a ''current placement approach'' in which we compared children who remained in their original placement at age 8 to those who did not (see Figures 1 and 2, Fox et al, 2011). From these analyses it is apparent that changes in placement do impact IQ or, put another way, remaining in foster care homes created by the BEIP has a positive effect on children's IQ scores that is maintained at 8 years of age.…”