Quality of institutional care and early childhood development

Abstract

Institutional rearing adversely affects children's development, but the extent to which specific characteristics of the institutional context and the quality of care provided contribute to problematic development remains unclear. In this study, 72 preschoolers institutionalised for at least 6 months were evaluated by their caregiver using the Child Behavior Checklist and the Disturbances of Attachment Interview. Distal and proximate indices of institutional caregiving quality were assessed using both staff reports and direct observation. Results revealed that greater caregiver sensitivity predicted reduced indiscriminate behaviour and secure-base distortions. A closer relationship with the caregiver predicted reduced inhibited attachment behaviour. Emotional and behavioural problems proved unrelated to caregiving quality. Results are discussed in terms of (non)-shared caregiving factors that influence institutionalised children's development.Keywords attachment disturbed behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems, institutional rearing

Serotonin transporter polymorphism moderates the effects of caregiver intrusiveness on ADHD symptoms among institutionalized preschoolers

“…Consider in this regard Smyke and collaborators' [33] evidence that poorer-quality caregiving was related to more negative behavior among 5-to 31-month olds residing in institutions, even after taking into account child gender and length of institutionalization. Consider, too, Oliveira and colleagues' [34] work showing that institutionalized preschoolers who experience more sensitive caregiving evinced less indiscriminate social behavior than their counterparts who experienced poorer-quality care.…”

Tomada de decisão no sistema de proteção das crianças e jovens: Um estudo comparativo entre as atitudes de profissionais e de estudantes

“…Ao nível da investigação, estudos recentes mostraram os resultados positivos obtidos pelas crianças e jovens em regime de acolhimento (Delgado et al, 2013) e os resultados reduzidos e limitados de crianças e jovens em cuidados residenciais (Martins et al, 2013;Oliveira, Fearon, Belsky, Fachada, & Soares, 2014).…”

Institutionalization and indiscriminate social behavior: Differential-susceptibility versus diathesis-stress models for the 5-HTTLPR and BDNF genotypes

“…What makes this notable is that there are empirical grounds for regarding the quality of institutional care different in these two settings [28,29]. According to Gunnar's classification of quality of institutional rearing [30], Portuguese institutions perform at Level 2 because they meet children's nutrition and health needs, even if failing to do so with regard to cognitive stimulation, social-relational support and emotional care; or even as Level 3, as some of the institutions do provide sufficient support for healthy development, except with regard to the provision of a consistent and stable relationship of children with specific caregivers.…”