5 High-Quality Foster Care Mitigates Callous-Unemotional Traits Following Early Deprivation in Boys: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective-Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in childhood are a developmental precursor to psychopathy, yet the origins and etiology of CU traits are not known. We examined CU traits Correspondence to Charles H. Zeanah, MD, 1430 Tulane Avenue #8055, New Orleans, LA 70112; czeanah@tulane.edu. Disclosure: Dr. Humphreys has received grant support from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. She has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. She has served as a paid consultant to ZERO TO THREE. Dr. McGoron has received grant support from NIMH and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Dr. Sheridan has received grant support from NIMH, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Mind, Brain, Behavior Initiative at Harvard University. She has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. Dr. McLaughlin has received grant support from NIMH and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. She has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. Dr. Fox has received grant support from NIMH and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. He serves on the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. He has received royalties from Taylor and Francis Press and Harvard University Press. He has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. Dr. Nelson has received grant support from NIMH, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Sinneave Foundation, and the Binder Family Foundation. He serves on the scientific advisory board of the Merck Foundation, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, and has served as a paid consultant to the US Department of Justice. He has received royalties from Harvard University Press, MIT Press, and Wiley and Sons. He has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. Dr. Zeanah has received grant support from NIMH, the Palix Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation, SAMHSA, and the Institute for Mental Hygiene. He has received royalties from Guilford Press and Harvard University Press. He has received honoraria for lectures to professional audiences. HHS Public Access Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript among 12-year-old children exposed to severe early deprivation and evaluated whether a highquality foster care intervention mitigated the development of high levels of CU traits.Method-Participants were from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial of foster care for children in institutions. Children were recruited from institutions in Bucharest, Romania, along with age-and sex-matched children who were never institutionalized. Children raised in institutional settings were randomized (mean age = 22 months) to either a foster care group (n = 68) or a care-as-usual group (n = 68). CU traits were assessed at age 12.75 years in available participants from the randomized trial (n = 95) and children who were never institutionali...