Poster #90 - Developmental Outcomes of Foster-Adoptive Infants: Differential Sensitivity to Prenatal Risk Factors Based on Biological Sex

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Infants adopted domestically from foster care often present with multiple risk factors, including prenatal substance exposure and associated birth outcomes such as prematurity and low birth weight. These prenatal factors pose significant risk for a broad range of infant outcomes including cognitive, language, and motor development. Meta-analytic studies primarily of older adopted youth suggest that adopted children can show significant flexibility in their cognitive outcomes and “catch up” to the general population (van IJzendoorn & Juffer, 2006). However, because there are almost no longitudinal studies of infants adopted domestically from foster care, it is unclear how much high rates of prenatal substance exposure and risky birth outcomes in this population influence the extent of “catch up” after adoption. Furthermore, despite emerging evidence that boys may be more vulnerable to fetal insults than girls (DiPietro & Voegtline, 2017), few studies have tested whether patterns of risk and resilience are moderated by infant biological sex. Hypotheses: In a sample of high-risk infants transitioning from foster care to adoption, we hypothesized that prenatal substance exposure and associated birth outcomes would predict lower cognitive, language, and motor skills at baseline, but also expected these infant outcomes to improve from baseline to one-year follow-up post-adoption. We further hypothesized that biological sex would moderate these associations, such that prenatal risk would have a stronger negative effect for boys than girls. Sample population: The study included families of 98 infants (56% boys; 83% minority race; age 0-27 months) transitioning from foster to adoptive homes. Method: Prenatal risk factors (substance exposure, prematurity, birth weight) were coded from medical, DCFS, and court records. Infants were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) to evaluate cognitive, language, and motor development. Results: Despite a range of prenatal risk factors, foster-adoptive infants showed comparable cognitive functioning to population norms at both baseline and one-year follow-up. Prenatal substance exposure predicted lower cognitive functioning at initial placement; however, these effects were no longer evident at follow-up (Table 1). Compared to population norms, foster-adoptive infants scored lower in motor and language functioning, although language scores significantly improved one year following placement (t = -2.45, p = .02), in line with a developmental “catch-up” effect. No sex differences were initially observed at baseline, but began emerging at follow-up when predicting motor and language outcomes, with prenatal substance exposure predicting greater deficits in motor functioning for boys (B = -6.86, SE = 3.24, p =.04), but not girls (B = 3.93, SE = 3.26, p = .23) (Figure 1). Conclusions: Overall, results support adoption as an important early intervention that may buffer effects of prenatal risk on later infant development. Sex differences observed were generally consistent with previous studies suggesting greater vulnerability to prenatal risk factors for boys. Differential vulnerability to prenatal substance exposure and birth outcomes may partially account for the higher rate of language and motor developmental delays observed in boys (vs. girls) adopted from foster care.

Authors

• Irene Tung, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Allison S. Christian-Brandt, Pacific University Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Audra Langley, University of California, Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jill Waterman, University of California, Los Angeles
  Non-Presenting Author