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Persisting Effects of Foster Care as an Alternative to Institutional Care for Institutionalized Young Children

Fri, April 9, 4:20 to 5:50pm EDT (4:20 to 5:50pm EDT), Virtual

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Early adversity is associated with poorer long-term biobehavioral outcomes, leading to calls for early intervention to mitigate the risks of adversity (Heckman, 2000). While many early interventions show promising initial results, effect sizes typically fade out over time (Bailey et al., 2017). In this symposium, we examine long-term outcomes following the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP; Zeanah et al., 2003) a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care. At baseline, 136 children (mean age 22 months) residing in orphanages in Bucharest, Romania were assessed and randomized into either study-sponsored foster care or to care as usual. At the end of the trial (age 54 months), the study team found that children randomized to foster care had improved biobehavioral outcomes relative to their counterparts assigned to care as usual. Here, we explore how persistent are the effects of the BEIP trial across later development. We present evidence that the foster care intervention has strong effects on IQ in late adolescence (presentation 1), that children randomized to foster care differ from their counterparts in general and specific forms of early childhood psychopathology that predict their functioning in middle childhood and adolescence (presentation 2), and, finally, that the foster care intervention has persistent effects on biobehavioral functioning from toddlerhood through later adolescence that are not moderated by developmental stage (presentation 3). We discuss our findings in relation to the theory that interventions involving “sustaining environments” avoid fade out effects by maintaining initial advantages.

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