Roos Leslie E, Kim Hyoun K, Schnabler Simone, Fisher Philip A
University of Oregon, Department of Psychology.
Oregon Social Learning Center.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2016 Dec;71:184-190. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.11.008. Epub 2016 Nov 9.
Prior research has identified the presence of executive function (EF) deficits in child protective service (CPS) involved (versus non-involved) children but minimal work has examined predictors that might explain individual differences these CPS-involved children. Here, we sought to characterize EF in a large sample (N=694) of CPS-involved children and examine how specific adversities (physical abuse, neglect, caregiver domestic violence, and caregiver substance dependence) and cumulative adversity (at ages 0-3 and 3-6 years) predict EF (at approximately 5-6 years). It was expected that the sample would exhibit low EF overall based on previous research in maltreated children. Specific adversity and cumulative adversity analyses were largely exploratory given the limited previous work in this area. Results indicated poor EF overall, with 43.5% of children performing worse than chance. Amongst children who performed greater than chance, higher cumulative adversity, physical abuse, and caregiver substance use (at ages 3-6 years) predicted better EF. These findings join literature documenting that, within CPS-involved children, the presence of certain adversities predicts variable cognitive function. Findings highlight the potential relevance of evolutionary psychology to understanding how alterations in behavior linked to harsh and unpredictable early environments may cue accelerated brain development underlying relative cognitive advantages, within at-risk, low performing samples. Longitudinal studies are critical to determine if the relative EF advantages linked to higher adversity persist over time or result in lower EF later on, reflecting a more rapid, but overall limited, trajectory of cognitive development.
先前的研究已确定，涉及儿童保护服务（CPS）的儿童（与未涉及的儿童相比）存在执行功能（EF）缺陷，但极少有研究探讨可能解释这些涉及CPS的儿童个体差异的预测因素。在此，我们试图对一大群（N = 694）涉及CPS的儿童的EF进行特征描述，并研究特定逆境（身体虐待、忽视、照料者家庭暴力和照料者药物依赖）以及累积逆境（0至3岁和3至6岁时）如何预测（约5至6岁时的）EF。基于先前对受虐待儿童的研究，预计该样本总体上会表现出较低的EF。鉴于该领域先前的研究有限，特定逆境和累积逆境分析在很大程度上属于探索性研究。结果表明总体EF较差，43.5%的儿童表现比随机水平更差。在表现优于随机水平的儿童中，更高的累积逆境、身体虐待以及照料者药物使用（3至6岁时）预示着更好的EF。这些发现与文献记载相符，即在涉及CPS的儿童中，某些逆境的存在预示着认知功能的差异。研究结果凸显了进化心理学在理解与恶劣且不可预测的早期环境相关的行为改变如何在处于风险中的低表现样本中促使大脑加速发育从而产生相对认知优势方面的潜在相关性。纵向研究对于确定与更高逆境相关的相对EF优势是否会随时间持续存在或随后导致更低的EF至关重要，这反映了认知发展更快但总体有限的轨迹。
