TY - JOUR
T1 - Moderating the Risk for Attention Deficits in Children with Pre-Adoptive Adversity
T2 - The Protective Role of Shorter Duration of out of Home Placement and Children’s Enhanced Error Monitoring
AU - Frenkel, Tahl I.
AU - Donzella, Bonny
AU - Frenn, Kristin A.
AU - Rousseau, Sofie
AU - Fox, Nathan A.
AU - Gunnar, Megan R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Early institutional-deprivation has been found to increase risk for inattention/hyperactivity (ADHD). Notably, studies suggest that children with a history of adversity evidencing an enhanced ERP (the error-related-negativity; ERN) may be protected against attention problems. However, such protective effects of the ERN have been studied in children whom typically experienced residential instability. It is unknown whether error-monitoring is similarly protective for children with stable post-deprivation placements. The present study examined the protective effect of the ERN in a sample of children who experienced at least 3-years of stable, relatively enriched caregiving after being internationally-adopted as infants/toddlers from institutional-care. We included two groups of children adopted internationally before age three, one group adopted from institutional-care (PI:n = 80) and one comparison group adopted from foster-care (FC;n = 44). A second comparison group consisted of non-adopted children (NA;n = 48) from demographically comparable families. At five-years of age, we assessed child ADHD symptoms (parent-report) and behavioral performance and neural correlates of error-monitoring (Go/No-Go task). PI children displayed lower Go/No-Go accuracy relative to FC children, and higher levels of ADHD symptoms relative to NA controls. In both FC and PI groups, longer duration of pre-adoptive out-of-home placement was associated with inattention, especially for children with deficits in error-monitoring. Enhancing cognitive control in the form of error monitoring might be a useful intervention target to protect children from some of the negative outcomes associated with adverse early care. Furthermore, results underscore that regardless of type of pre-adoptive care, we should aim to place children in stable/permanent homes as early as possible.
AB - Early institutional-deprivation has been found to increase risk for inattention/hyperactivity (ADHD). Notably, studies suggest that children with a history of adversity evidencing an enhanced ERP (the error-related-negativity; ERN) may be protected against attention problems. However, such protective effects of the ERN have been studied in children whom typically experienced residential instability. It is unknown whether error-monitoring is similarly protective for children with stable post-deprivation placements. The present study examined the protective effect of the ERN in a sample of children who experienced at least 3-years of stable, relatively enriched caregiving after being internationally-adopted as infants/toddlers from institutional-care. We included two groups of children adopted internationally before age three, one group adopted from institutional-care (PI:n = 80) and one comparison group adopted from foster-care (FC;n = 44). A second comparison group consisted of non-adopted children (NA;n = 48) from demographically comparable families. At five-years of age, we assessed child ADHD symptoms (parent-report) and behavioral performance and neural correlates of error-monitoring (Go/No-Go task). PI children displayed lower Go/No-Go accuracy relative to FC children, and higher levels of ADHD symptoms relative to NA controls. In both FC and PI groups, longer duration of pre-adoptive out-of-home placement was associated with inattention, especially for children with deficits in error-monitoring. Enhancing cognitive control in the form of error monitoring might be a useful intervention target to protect children from some of the negative outcomes associated with adverse early care. Furthermore, results underscore that regardless of type of pre-adoptive care, we should aim to place children in stable/permanent homes as early as possible.
KW - ADHD and externalizing symptoms
KW - Adoption
KW - Error-related negativity
KW - Event-related potentials
KW - Foster-care
KW - Institutions
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U2 - 10.1007/s10802-020-00671-2
DO - 10.1007/s10802-020-00671-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 32607754
AN - SCOPUS:85087387271
SN - 0091-0627
VL - 48
SP - 1115
EP - 1128
JO - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
IS - 9
ER -