Researchers report developmental effects of early-childhood institutionalization and foster care placement. Children who spend their early lives in institutions characterized by low caregiver consistency and little opportunity for social or cognitive stimulation are subject to psychosocial neglect. Childhood trauma and adversity are associated with negative outcomes in memory and executive function in young children. However, the trajectories of improvement among institutionalized children, particularly the benefits associated with a move to foster care, were previously unexplored. Mark Wade and colleagues analyzed data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial in which the development of previously institutionalized children placed in foster care was tracked. The authors compared the development of 136 participants in the project with 72 never-institutionalized children. Growth in memory and executive function occurred in institutionalized, foster-care, and never-institutionalized children between ages 8 and 16. However, some cognitive deficiencies persisted in institutionalized children, regardless of foster care placement; gaps in some cognitive deficiencies between institutionalized and never-institutionalized children widened; and difficulties with visual-spatial memory improved in children placed in foster care. According to the authors, institutionalization can produce persistent long-term cognitive effects, although opportunities for cognitive improvements exist before adolescence.
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Article #18-09145: "Long-term effects of institutional rearing, foster care, and brain activity on memory and executive functioning," by Mark Wade, Nathan Fox, Charles Zeanah, and Charles Nelson, III.
MEDIA CONTACT: Charles A Nelson, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; tel: 617-355-0401; e-mail: Charles.nelson@childrens.harvard.edu; Mark Wade, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; e-mail: wadem2@gmail.com
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences