title: Effects of placement type on the language developmental trajectories of maltreated children from infancy to early childhood.
abstract: This study describes the developmental trajectories of language skills in infants with substantiated maltreatment histories over a 5-year period and evaluates the effect of three different custodial placements on their language trajectories over time: in-home (remaining in the care of the biological parent/parents), nonkin foster care, and nonparental kinship care. Participants included 963 infants reported to child protective services prior to their first birthday and whose maltreatment was substantiated. Results from covariate-controlled growth modeling revealed no significant placement effects. Across all groups, children's auditory and expressive communication scores decreased significantly from Wave 1 (intake) in the infants' first year to Wave 4, when children were about 3.5 years of age, then improved to baseline levels by Wave 5, when children were about 6 years old. Despite these fluctuations, children's average language scores in each placement group remained below the population mean at each wave of the study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. amstacks@wayne.edu
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stacks
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beeghly
authors.forename: Ty
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Partridge
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dexter
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D015897:Comorbidity; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005183:Failure to Thrive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States