Early elementary school adjustment of maltreated children in foster care: the roles of inhibitory control and caregiver involvement

Abstract

In this study, 85 maltreated foster children and 56 non-maltreated community children (M age=3-6 years) were assessed across kindergarten and first grade to examine the hypothesis that inhibitory control and caregiver involvement mediate associations between a history of maltreatment and foster placement and early school adjustment. Specifically, academic and social-emotional competence were evaluated. The maltreated foster children performed more poorly in academic and social-emotional competence. Inhibitory control fully mediated the association of maltreatment and foster placement with academic competence, whereas inhibitory control and caregiver involvement mediated their association with social-emotional competence. The results suggest that inhibitory control and caregiver involvement might be promising targets for school readiness interventions for foster preschoolers.

© 2010 The Authors. Child Development © 2010 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1

Path analysis of the associations between a history of maltreatment and foster placement, hypothesized mediators, covariates, and school adjustment. *p < .05.