Early family adversity,stability and consistency of institutional care and infant cognitive,language and motor development across the first six months of institutionalization

This study extends research on the effects of institutionalization—by examining the trajectories of cognitive, language and motor development of 64 Portuguese infants and toddlers across the first six months of institutionalization, while determining whether pre-institutional adversities and the stability and consistency of institutional care predict children’s development. At time of enrollment, 23.4%, 32.8% and 31.3% of the children were moderately to severely delayed, respectively, in their cognitive, linguistic and motor functioning. Developmental problems persisted after six months of institutionalization. The accumulation of early pre-institutional adversities predicted cognitive and motor limitations at admission to the institutions, but not variation in subsequent development. The stability and consistency of institutional care also failed to predict developmental growth and change. Children who had never lived with their families of origin showed a better language development at enrollment than their counterparts who had lived with their families of origin before institutionalization. Such advantage was followed by a deceleration in language growth after six months of institutional placement. Results are discussed in terms of short- vs. longer-term effects of institutionalization.     

The long‐term effects of institutional rearing,foster care intervention and disruptions in care on brain electrical activity in adolescence

Exposure to early psychosocial deprivation as a result of institutional care disrupts typical brain development. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) is the first longitudinal study to investigate the neurodevelopment of institutionalized infants randomized to a foster care (FCG) intervention versus care as usual (CAUG). Here, we present findings from a follow‐up assessment of brain electrical activity as indexed by resting EEG at age 16 years. In addition, we examined the effects of disruption of foster care placement (e.g. the number of moves among foster care placements) on brain electrical activity. Resting‐state EEG was collected from 48 CAUG, 46 FCG and 48 never institutionalized (NIG) control participants. Absolute (µV²) and relative (proportion) power were computed from eyes closed, resting EEG data for theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. The CAUG displayed higher relative theta and lower relative alpha power compared to the FCG at 16 years of age. The FCG showed brain activity comparable to the NIG. The results further showed that disruptions following the original foster care placement had an adverse effect on brain electrical activity. Within the foster care group, there were no effects of age of placement on EEG power. Placement of children who have experienced early institutional rearing into stable foster care settings ensure long‐term improvement in brain functioning.     

Mother and father language input to young children: Contributions to later language development

There has been little research comparing the nature and contributions of language input of mothers and fathers to their young children. This study examined differences in mother and father talk to their 24 month-old children. This study also considered contributions of parent education, child care quality and mother and father language (output, vocabulary, complexity, questions, and pragmatics) to children's expressive language development at 36 months. It was found that fathers' language input was less than mothers' language input on the following: verbal output, turn length, different word roots, and wh-questions. Mothers and fathers did not differ on type-token ratio, mean length of utterance, or the proportion of questions. At age 36 months, parent level of education, the total quality of child care and paternal different words were significant predictors of child language. Mothers' language was not a significant predictor of child language.     

Enhancing the language development of toddlers in foster care by promoting foster parents’ sensitivity: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Young children in foster care are at increased risk for problematic language development, making early intervention a critical tool in enhancing these children's foundational language abilities. This study examined the efficacy of an early preventative intervention, Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch‐up for Toddlers (ABC‐T), in improving the receptive vocabulary abilities of toddlers placed in foster care. All the children had been removed from their biological parents’ care and placed into foster care. When children were between 24 and 36 months old, foster parents were contacted by research staff and consented to participate. Parents were randomly assigned using a random number generator to receive either ABC‐T (n = 45), which aimed to promote sensitive parenting for children who have experienced early adversity, or a control intervention (n = 43). Foster children's receptive vocabulary skills were assessed post‐intervention using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition, when children were between 36 and 60 months old. Children whose foster parents received ABC‐T demonstrated more advanced receptive vocabulary abilities than children whose foster parents received the control intervention. The positive effect of ABC‐T on foster children's receptive vocabulary was mediated by increases in foster parents’ sensitivity during parent–child interactions. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01261806.     

Early communicative gestures and play as predictors of language development in children born with and without family risk for dyslexia

The present study investigated early communicative gestures, play, and language skills in children born with family risk for dyslexia (FR) and a control group of children without this inheritable risk at ages 12, 15, 18, and 24 months. Participants were drawn from the Tromsø Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (TLD) which follows children's cognitive and language development from age 12 months through Grade 2 in order to identify early markers of developmental dyslexia. Results showed that symbolic play and parent reported play at age 12 months and communicative gestures at age 15 months explained 61% of the variance in productive language at 24 months in the FR group. These early nonlinguistic measures seem to be potentially interesting markers of later language development in children born at risk for dyslexia.     

Early and late mismatch negativity elicited by words and speech-like stimuli in children

In auditory perception the brain's attentional and preattentional mechanisms select certain stimuli for preferential processing and filter out irrelevant input. This study investigated nonattentive auditory processing in children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide a means to study neural correlates related to language and speech-sound processing. Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an ERP wave that indicates attention-independent perceptual change detection. In this study cortical ERPs were elicited by complex tones, naturally spoken words, and pseudowords, with each stimulus type containing equal acoustical elements. Tones elicited a bifurcated mismatch negativity (MMN), with early MMN (peaking at 150-200 ms) being more dominant. On the other hand, words elicited a strong late MMN, peaking at about 400-450 ms after stimulus onset. The MMN wave form was significantly weaker for pseudowords than for words. The late MMN wave, especially for word differences, was found to reflect summating MMN generators and memory trace formation on gestalt bases. Results suggest that the auditory processing, even nonattended, is highly associated with the cognitive meaning of the stimuli.     

Health care practitioners' perceptions of public mental health care in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of health care practitioners (HCPs) concerning public mental health care in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data were collected from thirteen purposively selected HCPs using in-depth unstructured interviews (males?=?6, females?=?7). Data were transcribed verbatim and later thematically analysed. The findings suggest that mental health professionals perceive mental health services to be both inadequate and of suboptimal quality. Specifically, they perceived public mental health care to have lower priority, to be poorly resourced and lacking in patient-oriented care qualities.     

Early life origins of psychological development and mental health

According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)‐hypothesis, conditions early in life may have life‐long consequences. In a series of epidemiological birth cohort and clinical studies and natural experiments, we have had the chance to test the extent to which this hypothesis is useful in understanding individual differences in psychological development and mental health. Our findings have provided evidence that individual differences in cognitive, social and emotional development and in mental health may lie in early life circumstances, and add significantly to the literature by pointing out which periods of early growth are the most critical. These findings are also important in translating pre‐clinical evidence to humans. What remains less clear, however, is what the mechanisms of programming are. Thus, further research is needed to elucidate these mechanisms before information on the early life origins of health and disease can be used in designing prevention and intervention programs.     

Effects of foster care intervention and caregiving quality on the bidirectional development of executive functions and social skills following institutional rearing

Institutional rearing negatively impacts the development of children's social skills and executive functions (EF). However, little is known about whether childhood social skills mediate the effects of the foster care intervention (FCG) and foster caregiving quality following early institutional rearing on EF and social skills in adolescence. We examined (a) whether children's social skills at 8 years mediate the impact of the FCG on the development of EF at ages 12 and 16 years, and (b) whether social skills and EF at ages 8 and 12 mediate the relation between caregiving quality in foster care at 42 months and subsequent social skills and EF at age 16. Participants included abandoned children from Romanian institutions, who were randomly assigned to a FCG (n = 68) or care as usual (n = 68), and a never-institutionalized group (n = 135). At ages 8, 12, and 16, social skills were assessed via caregiver and teacher reports and EF were assessed via the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Caregiving quality of foster caregivers was observed at 42 months. FCG predicted better social skills at 8 years, which in turn predicted better EF in adolescence. Higher caregiver quality in foster care at 42 months predicted better social skills at 8 and 12 years, and better EF at 12 years, which in turn predicted 16-year EF and social skills. These findings suggest that interventions targeting caregiving quality within foster care home environments may have long-lasting positive effects on children's social skills and EF.     

The role of language in mathematical development: evidence from children with specific language impairments

A sample (n=48) of eight-year-olds with specific language impairments is compared with age-matched (n=55) and language matched controls (n=55) on a range of tasks designed to test the interdependence of language and mathematical development. Performance across tasks varies substantially in the SLI group, showing profound deficits in production of the count word sequence and basic calculation and significant deficits in understanding of the place-value principle in Hindu-Arabic notation. Only in understanding of arithmetic principles does SLI performance approximate that of age-matched-controls, indicating that principled understanding can develop even where number sequence production and other aspects of number processing are severely compromised.     

Is knowledge of family history related to psychosocial functioning? Comparison of adolescents living in institutional care and adolescents living with their biological families

We tested adolescents growing up in institutional care and adolescents living with their birth families using the ‘Do you know?’ scale and other measures of psychosocial functioning. We found that children living in group homes knew significantly less of their family history, exhibited more behavioural problems and had a more external locus of control. Moreover, the correlations between self-esteem and knowledge of family history were significantly different between the groups. This may suggest that the contribution of the knowledge of family history to self-esteem is different depending on the quality of family history. We also found a significant correlation between locus of control and behavioural problems for the children in institutional care, but not children living with their birth families, which may indicate that their behavioural problems may partially stem from the sense of lack of control over their lives.     

Development of a Screening Instrument for Early Language Delay in Hong Kong Chinese: A Preliminary Study

Having language delay—one of the common neurodevelopmental difficulties during childhood—does not only imply an impairment in communication in the 1st few years of life. Previous studies have suggested that language problems have long-term implications for social, emotional, and intellectual development. Researchers have found that early identification and intervention of speech and language delay yields better treatment effects. However, unlike most of the motor developmental assessment tools, language assessment tools are not readily transferred across cultures because of the different linguistic features and the developmental stages of such features in a particular language or dialect. The present study presents an empirical example of the initial development of a culturally sensitive screening protocol, using vocabulary size as the indicator to minimize the effect of linguistic differences.     

Pathways to mental health care by members of a rural community in South Africa

This study explored mental health help seeking pathways followed by Black South African rural community dwellers in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Ten participants (5 females and 5 males) aged between 18 and 59 years receiving services from a rural mental health care facility in the Limpopo province were the informants. They presented with psychotic disorders?=?50%, substance-use mental disorders?=?20%, mood disorders?=?20% and epilepsy?=?10%. They completed a semi-structured one-to-one interview on their pathways to mental health care services. Data were content analysed. The results showed that help seeking pathways for mental health involve several entry points. These include the utilisation of western medicine when experiencing acute symptoms, and a preference for traditional medicine when faced with chronic but manageable symptoms. The findings suggest that families and significant others are important facilitators for individuals navigating the mental health care pathways.     

Relationship between fine/gross motor skills and language and math development in Colombian Caribbean children: A study in Barranquilla

Literature suggests that motor skills are associated with other areas of development or domains, such as language and math, especially at early ages. These results are mainly based on studies developed in medium-to-high sociocultural contexts. Thus, this study was conducted in a medium-to-low-income area. The aim was to know the 4–5 years old children's motor development (both fine and gross motor skills), and its relation to language and mathematical development. A total of 219 Colombian Caribbean children (105 boys and 114 girls) aged 4 and 5 years participated in this study. Results revealed higher motor skills among girls, although differences by gender were not notable. Positive and significant correlations were found between motor skills and language and mathematical skills, although most of the correlations were weak or moderate. Also, it was observed that fine motor skills were less related to language or mathematical development in comparison with gross motor skills, especially among boys. These results suggest that among Colombian Caribbean children gross motor skills could have a higher influence on the development and acquisition of some language and mathematical skills in comparison with fine motor skills.     

Developmental stimulation in child care centers contributes to young infants’ cognitive development

This study examined whether the quality of caregiver behavior in child care centers contributes to infant cognitive development at 9 months of age. Sixty-four infants (34 boys) were observed with their primary caregivers in child care centers at 3, 6, and 9 months of age. Caregiver behavior was rated for sensitivity and for stimulation of infant development during one-to-one caregiving interactions. Infant cognitive development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II (Mental Development Index). Higher levels of developmental stimulation in the centers predicted higher levels of infant cognitive development at 9 months, beyond infant cognitive development at 3 months (just before entering child care), parental education, and maternal sensitivity. The results suggest that even small increases in developmental stimulation provided in child care centers in the first year of life may foster infants’ cognitive development.     

The detection and management of mental health disorders in pediatric primary care

We reviewed the literature on the detection and management of mental health disorders within the context of pediatric primary care. Pediatricians have displayed a low sensitivity and high specificity in research investigating the detection of mental health impairment in children. Active management efforts characterize approaches to identified cases with more recently trained primary care pediatricians displaying a wider range of skills in managing mental health disorders. Few efforts have been made by pediatric psychologists to develop strategies for enhancing detection rates and management or to empirically evaluate the integration of pediatric psychology services into the primary care context. A conceptual model of factors influencing detection rates and ongoing management of mental health disorders within pediatric primary care is presented. Recommendations are made for more direct involvement of pediatric psychologists within the primary care context.     

Single parenting effects: resource access and coping of children in Swaziland

This study investigated single parenting influences on the psychosocial development of children in Swaziland. Participants were a convenience sample of 24 students attending eight urban and rural schools (females?=?54%; males =46%; age range 13–21). Data on experiences of single parenthood and their sense of well-being were collected using focus group interviews. The data were thematically analysed. The findings suggest that children experience physical, material, emotional and social resource depletions. The children reported acceptance, search for meaning and purpose, and hope in the future as positive coping strategies they used to live with resource scarcity. Psychosocial resourcing of children with single parenthood is concomitant with positive self-perception, self-identity and self-esteem.