title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97401, USA. katherinep@oslc.org
authors.forename: Katherine C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Pears
authors.forename: Philip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: Hyoun K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoerger
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012917:Social Adjustment