Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
University of Minnesota, Institute of Child Development, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Infancy. 2021 May;26(3):455-468. doi: 10.1111/infa.12396. Epub 2021 Mar 9.
Institutional care has been shown to increase the risk of attention problems in children, but some children are more sensitive to their environment, both for better and for worse. With this in mind, the current study examined the moderating role of temperament (falling reactivity) between early adversity and attention skills. Six- to 15-month-old infants residing in institutions (n = 63) and infants reared by their biological families from low socioeconomic environments (n = 59) were recruited. The infants' attention skills were measured by calculating the length of time they spent looking at toys. The infants' temperaments were measured by a subscale of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (falling reactivity/rate of recovery from distress). The findings were in line with the differential susceptibility theory. Compared to infants with high levels of falling reactivity, infants with lower levels of falling reactivity had better attention skills if they were in a family group, but they had lower attention skills if they were residing in institutions. The attention skills of the infants who had higher scores for falling reactivity did not appear to be affected by the adverse environment.
机构照料已被证明会增加儿童注意力问题的风险，但有些儿童对环境更为敏感，无论是好是坏。有鉴于此，本研究考察了气质（反应性下降）在早期逆境和注意力技能之间的调节作用。研究招募了居住在机构中的 6 至 15 个月大的婴儿（n=63）和来自低社会经济环境的亲生家庭抚养的婴儿（n=59）。通过计算婴儿注视玩具的时间来测量他们的注意力技能。婴儿的气质通过婴儿行为问卷的一个子量表（反应性下降/从痛苦中恢复的速度）来测量。研究结果与易感性差异理论一致。与反应性下降水平较高的婴儿相比，如果反应性下降水平较低的婴儿处于家庭群体中，他们的注意力技能会更好，但如果他们住在机构中，他们的注意力技能会更差。反应性下降得分较高的婴儿的注意力技能似乎不受不利环境的影响。
