Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T16:51:43.310Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Cognitive Profiles of Maltreated Children in Care and Their Educational Needs: Supporting Good Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2013

Lisa Joanne DeGregorio  and
Sara McLean
Lisa Joanne DeGregorio
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia, Adelaide
Sara McLean
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia, Adelaide
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Children in care, who have been maltreated, consistently demonstrate poorer educational outcomes than their peers. A number of reasons have been suggested for this such as a lack of stability and opportunities, as compared to their peers. One possible contributor to the poorer educational attainment of children in care is their underlying cognitive vulnerabilities. Cognitive deficits in maltreated children are thought to arise as a result of the impact of trauma on the developing brain. These cognitive deficits include difficulties with executive functioning. Executive functioning abilities include the ability to inhibit behaviour, plan ahead and switch from task to task and are critical for navigating the day to day requirements of educational settings. This article summarises what we know about the cognitive vulnerabilities of maltreated children in care and outlines the implications of these cognitive deficits for supporting maltreated children.

Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 28 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AIHW (2012). Child protection Australia 2010–11. Child welfare series no. 53. Cat. no. CWS 41. Canberra: AIHW.Google Scholar
Astley, S.J., Stachowiak, J., Clarren, S.K., & Clausen, C. (2002). Application of the foetal alcohol syndrome facial photographic screening tool in a foster care population. Journal of Pediatrics, 141 (5), 712–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banerjee, T.D., Middleton, F., & Farone, S.V. (2007). Environment risk factors for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Acta Paedriatrica, 96, 1269–1274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barkley, R.A., & Murphy, K.R. (2010). Impairment in occupational functioning and adult ADHD: the predictive utility of xecutive Function (EF) ratings versus EF tests. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 25 (3), 157–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M.C., Doyle, A.E., Seidman, L.J., Wilens, T.E., Ferrero, F., Morgan, C.L., & Faraone, S.V. (2004). Impact of executive function deficits and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) on academic outcomes in children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72 (5), 757–766.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, C., & Razza, R.P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Child Development, 78 (2), 647–663.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, J.S., & Hynd, G.W. (2005). The role of the corpus collosum in interhemispheric transfer of information: excitation or inhibition. Neuropsychology Review, 15 (2), 59–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bull, R., Andrews Epsy, K., & Wiebe, S.A. (2008). Short-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning in preschoolers: longitudinal predictors of mathematical acheivement at age 7 years. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33 (3), 205–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carrion, V.G., Garrett, A., Menon, V., Weems, C.F., & Reiss, A.L. (2008). Posttraumatic stress symptoms and brain function during a response-inhibition task: An fMRI study in youth. Depression and Anxiety, 25 (6), 514–526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cashmore, J.A., & Paxman, M. (1996). Wards Leaving Care: A longitudinal study. Sydney: Department of Community Services.Google Scholar
Cheung, C., Lwin, K., & Jenkins, J.M. (2012). Helping youth in care succeed: Influence of caregiver involvement on academic achievement. Children & Youth Services Review, 34, 1092–1100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F.A., Howe, M.L., & Toth, S.L. (2010). The effects of maltreatment and neuroendocrine regulation on memory performance. Child Development, 81 (5), 1504–1519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, C., Prior, M., & Kinsella, G. (2002). The relationship between executive function abilities, adaptive behaviour, and academic achievement in children with externalising behaviour problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43 (6), 785–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coggins, T.E., Timler, G.R., Olswang, L.B. (2007). A ctate of double jeopardy: impact of prenatal alcohol exposure and adverse environments on the social communicative abilities of school-age children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 38 (2), 117–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courtney, M.E., & Dworsky, A. (2006). Early outcomes for young adults transitioning from out-of-home care in the U.S.A. Child and Family Social Work, 11, 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CREATE Foundation (2004). Report Card on Education. Sydney: CREATE Foundation.Google Scholar
Cox, A.J. (2007) No Mind Left Behind: Understanding and Fostering Executive Control- The Eight Essential Brain Skills Every Child Needs to Thrive. New York: Penguin.Google Scholar
Dawson, R., & Guare, R. (2004). Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
De Bellis, M.D., Keshavan, M.S., Shifflett, H., Iyengar, S., Beers, S.R., Hall, J., & Moritz, G. (2002). Brain structures in pediatric maltreatment-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a sociodemographically matched study. Biological Psychiatry, 52 (11), 1066–1078.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Bellis, M.D., Hooper, S.R., Spratt, E.G., & Woolley, D.P. (2009). Neuropsychological findings in childhood neglect and their relationships to pediatric PTSD. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15 (6), 868–878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Delima, J., & Vimpani, G. (2011). The neurobiological effects of childhood maltreatment: An often overlooked narrative related to the long-term effects of early childhood trauma? Family Matters, 89, 42–52.Google Scholar
DePrince, A.P., Weinzierl, K.M., & Combs, M.D. (2009). Executive function performance and trauma exposure in a community sample of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33 (6), 353–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamantopoulou, S., Rydell, A.M., Thorell, L., & Bohlin, G. (2007). Impact of executive functioning and symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on children's peer relations and school performance. Developmental Neuropsychology, 32 (1), 521–542.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diamond, A., Barnett, W.S., Thomas, J., & Munro, S. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318, 1387–1388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diamond, A., & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science, 333, 959–964.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dileo, J. (2012). Investigating aggression in children with a history of maltreatment (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Google Scholar
Dixon, J. (2008). Young people leaving care: health, well-being and outcomes. Child & Family Social Work, 13, 207–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, R. (2003). Executive functions and their disorders: Imaging in clinical neuroscience. British Medical Bulletin, 65 (1), 49–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farah, M.J., Shera, D.M., Savage, J.H., Betancourt, J.M., Gianetta, J.M., Brodsky, N.L., Malmund, E. K., & Hurt, H. (2006). Childhood poverty: Specific associations with neurocognitive development. Brain Research, 1110, 166–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fernandez, E. (2008). Unravelling emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes in a longitudinal study of children in foster-care. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 1283–1301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flook, L., & Smalley, S. (2010). Effects of mindful awareness practices on executive functions in elementary school children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 26, 70–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gapin, J., & Etnier, J.L. (2010). The relationship between physical activity and executive function performance in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 32 (6), 753–763.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilbert, R., Spatz Widom, C., Browne, K., Fergusson, D., Webb, E., & Janson, S. (2009). Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet 373, 68–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Giedd, J.N., Castellanos, F.X., Casey, B.J., Kozuch, P., et al. (1994). Quantitative morphology of the corpus collosum in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 151 (5), 665–660.Google Scholar
Grayson, J. (2006). Maltreatment and its effects on early brain development. Virginia Child Protection Newsletter, 77, 1–16.Google Scholar
Hanson, J.L., Chung, M.K., Avants, B.B., Shirtcliff, E.A., Gee, J.C., Davidson, R.J., & Pollak, S.D. (2010). Early stress is associated with alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex: a tensor-based morphometry investigation of brain structure and behavioural risk. Journal of Neuroscience, 30 (22), 7466–7472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Healey, C.V., & Fisher, P.A. (2011). Young children in foster care and the development of favorable outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 1822–1830.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ito, Y, Teicher, M.H., Glod, C.A., Harper, D., Magnus, E., & Gelbard, H.A. (1993). Increased prevalence of electrophysiological abnormalities in children with psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neuroscience, 5 (4), 401–408.Google ScholarPubMed
Loe, I.M., & Feldman, H.M (2007). Academic and educational outcomes of children with ADHD. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32 (6), 643–654.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marlowe, W.B. (2000). An intervention for children with disorders of executive functions. Developmental Neuropsychology, 18 (3), 445–454.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, P.Y., & Jackson, S. (2002). Educational success for children in public care: advice from a group of high achievers. Child and Family Social Work, 7, 121–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MCloseky, G., Perkins, L., & Van Divner, B. (2008). Assessment and Intervention for Executive Functioning. Difficulties (School-Based Practice in Action). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Mezzacappa, E., Kindlon, D., & Earls, F. (2001). Child abuse and performance task assessments of executive functions in boys. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42 (8), 1041–1048.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mueller, S.C., Maheu, F.S., Dozier, M., Peloso, E., Mandell, D., Leibenluft, E., et al. (2010). Early-life stress is associated with impairment in cognitive control in adolescence: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia, 48 (10), 3037–3044.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Noble, K.G., Norman, M.F., & Farah, M.J (2005). Neurocognitive correlates of socioeconomic status in kindergarten children. Developmental Science, 8 (1), 74–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nolin, P., & Ethier, L. (2007). Using neuropsychological profiles to classify neglected children with or without physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31 (6), 631–643.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perry, B.D., Pollard, R.A., Blakley, T.L., & Vigilante, D. (1995). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and “use-dependent” development of the brain: How “states” become “traits”. Infant Mental Health Journal, 16 (4), 271–291.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, B.D. (2001). The neurodevelopmental impact of violence in childhood. Chapter 18: In Textbook of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry, (Eds., (Schetky, D. and Benedek, E.P.) Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., pp. 221–238.Google Scholar
Perry, B.D., & Hambrick, E.P. (2008). The neurosequential model of therapeutics. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 17 (3), 38–43.Google Scholar
Perry, B.D., & Marcellus, J.M. (2004). The impact of abuse and neglect on the developing brain. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/abuse_neglect.htm on 21/08/2012Google Scholar
Perry, B.D. (2006). Applying principles of neurodevelopment to clinical work with maltreated and traumatized children: The neurosequential model of therapeutics. In Webb, N.B. (Ed) Working with traumatized youth in child welfare. Social Work Practice with Children and Families. (pp. 27–52). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Powers, P., & Stotland, J. (2002). Lost in the Shuffle Revisited. Philadelphia: The Education Law Center.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, C., & Bisanz, J. (2009). Executive functioning in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: profiles and age-related differences. Child Neuropsychology, 15, 201–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rasmussen, C., Soleimani, M., & Pei, J. (2011). Executive functioning and working memory deficits on the CANTAB among children with prenatal alcohol exposure. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 18 (1), 44–53.Google ScholarPubMed
Ridderinkhof, K.R., van den Wildenberg, W.P.M., Segalowitz, S.J., & Carter, C.S. (2004). Neurocognitive mechanisms of cognitive control: The role of prefrontal cortex in action selection, response inhibition, performance monitoring, and reward-based learning. Brain and Cognition, 56 (2), 129–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riggs, N.R., Blair, C.B., & Greenberg, M.T. (2004). Concurrent and 2-year longitudinal relations between executive function and the behaviour of 1st and 2nd grade children. Child Neuropsychology, 9 (4), 267–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riggs, N.R., Greenberg, M.T., Kusché, C.A., & Pentz, M.A. (2006). The mediational role of neurocognition in the behavioral outcomes of a social-emotional prevention program in elementary school: effects of the PATHS Curriculum. Prevention Science, 7 (1), 91–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. (2008). The mental healthcare needs of children in out-of-home care: A report from the expert working committee of the Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Ryan, J.P., & Testa, M.F. (2005). Child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency: Investigating the role of placement and placement instability. Children and Youth Services Review, 27, 227–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spreen, O., & Strauss, E. (1998). A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests: Administration, Norms and Commentary. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Teicher, M.H. (2000). Wounds that time won't heal: the neurobiology of child abuse. Cerebrum, 2 (4).Google Scholar
Teicher, M.H., Andersen, S.L., Polcari, A., Anderson, C.M., Navalta, C.P., & Kim, D. M: (2003). The neurobiological consequences of early stress and childhood maltreatment. Neuroscience Biobehavioural Review, 27 (1–2), 33–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorell, L.B., Lindqvist, S., Bergman, S., Bohlin, G., & Klingberg, T. (2008). Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children. Developmental Science, 12 (1), 106–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trickett, P.K., Noll, J.G., & Putnam, F.W. (2011). The impact of sexual abuse on female development: Lessons from a multigenerational, longitudinal research study. Development and Psychopathology, 23 (2), 453–476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomoda, A., Navalta, C.P., Polcari, A., Sadato, N., & Teicher, M.H. (2009a). Childhood sexual abuse is associated with reduced gray matter volume in visual cortex of young women. Biological Psychiatry, 66, 642–648.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomoda, A., Suzuki, H., Rabi, K., Sheu, Y.S., Polcari, A., & Teicher, M.J. (2009b). Reduced prefrontal cortical gray matter volume in young adults exposed to harsh corporal punishment. Neuroimage, 47 (2), 66–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tomoda, A., Sheu, Y.S., Rabi, K., Suzuki, H., Navalta, C.P., Polcari, A., & Teicher, M.H. (2011). Exposure to parental verbal abuse is associated with increased gray matter volume in superior temporal gyrus. Neuroimage, 54, 280–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vacca, J.S. (2007). No child left behind. . .except the foster child. Relational Child & Youth Care Practice, 20 (2), 67–72.Google Scholar
Van Voorhees, E., & Scarpa, A. (2004). The effects of child maltreatment on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5 (4), 333–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webster, L., Hackett, R.K., & Joubert, D. (2009). The association of unresolved attachment status and cognitive processes in maltreated adolescents. Child Abuse Review, 18 (1), 6–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wise, S., Pollock, S., Mitchell, G., Argus, C., & Farquhar, P. (2010). Care-system impacts on academic outcomes: Research report. Melbourne: Anglicare Victoria and Wesley Mission Victoria.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (2010). Child maltreatment. Fact Sheet No. 150. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs150/en/ on 27/08/2012Google Scholar