TY - GEN
T1 - Effects of therapeutic interventions for foster children on behavioral problems, caregiver attachment, and stress regulatory neural systems
AU - Fisher, Philip A.
AU - Gunnar, Megan R.
AU - Dozier, Mary
AU - Bruce, Jacqueline
AU - Pears, Katherine C.
PY - 2006/12
Y1 - 2006/12
N2 - Young children in foster care are exposed to high levels of stress. These experiences place foster children at risk for poor social, academic, and mental heath outcomes. The role of adverse events in stimulating neurobiological stress responses presumably plays a role in shaping neural systems that contribute to these problems. Systematic and developmentally well-timed interventions might have the potential to change developmental trajectories and promote resilience. Moreover, understanding how specific dimensions of early adversity affect underlying stress response systems and how alterations in these systems are related to later psychosocial outcomes might facilitate more precise and targeted interventions. Data are drawn from two ongoing randomized trials involving foster infants/toddlers and preschoolers. Consistent with prior animal models of early adversity, these studies have shown that early adversity - particularly neglect, younger age at first foster placement, and higher number of placements - is associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. The interventions under investigation have produced evidence that it is possible to impact many areas that have been negatively affected by early stress, including HPA axis activity, behavior, and attachment to caregivers.
AB - Young children in foster care are exposed to high levels of stress. These experiences place foster children at risk for poor social, academic, and mental heath outcomes. The role of adverse events in stimulating neurobiological stress responses presumably plays a role in shaping neural systems that contribute to these problems. Systematic and developmentally well-timed interventions might have the potential to change developmental trajectories and promote resilience. Moreover, understanding how specific dimensions of early adversity affect underlying stress response systems and how alterations in these systems are related to later psychosocial outcomes might facilitate more precise and targeted interventions. Data are drawn from two ongoing randomized trials involving foster infants/toddlers and preschoolers. Consistent with prior animal models of early adversity, these studies have shown that early adversity - particularly neglect, younger age at first foster placement, and higher number of placements - is associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. The interventions under investigation have produced evidence that it is possible to impact many areas that have been negatively affected by early stress, including HPA axis activity, behavior, and attachment to caregivers.
KW - Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
KW - Cortisol
KW - Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
KW - Stress
KW - Stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34247868826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34247868826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1196/annals.1376.023
DO - 10.1196/annals.1376.023
M3 - Conference contribution
C2 - 17347353
AN - SCOPUS:34247868826
SN - 1573316431
SN - 9781573316439
T3 - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
SP - 215
EP - 225
BT - Resilience in Children
PB - Blackwell Publishing Inc
ER -