Poster #45 - Cognitive development of maltreated infants and toddlers: child engagement and relationship quality with the caregiver

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

Parental sensitivity and involvement are associated with children's cognitive development (Mills-Koonce et al., 2015; Baker et al., 2018). Maltreatment is a significant risk factor in children's cognitive development (Cicchetti & Valentino, 2006). As a critical stressor, it alters brain structures and functioning (De Bellis et al., 2013; Twardosz & Lutzker, 2010) and can lead to significant cognitive deficits (Hong et al., 2018; McCrory et al., 2017). That said, a child's ability to engage in cognitive tasks, which refer to their sustained and directed attention (Skinner et al., 2009), and therefore the ability to remain undistracted (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015), is also associated with their cognitive development (Muentener et al., 2018) and may protect them in the context of low-quality parent-child interactions.

The objective of this study is to examine whether the degree of child engagement in cognitive tasks moderates the association between parent-child interaction quality and cognitive development in maltreated infants and toddlers.

The sample included 96 infants/toddlers (M=11.65 months, SD=11.77 months) and their parents reported for neglect or abuse to child protective services. The quality of parent-child relationship was assessed using the Parent-Child Interaction Scale for children (Dubois-Comtois et al., 2013). The cognitive scale and the behavioral observation Inventory of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 2006) were completed by an observer to assess child cognitive development and the level of engagement in the task, respectively.

A hierarchical regression showed a non-significant direct effect of parent-child interaction quality on cognitive development (b=1.70, p=.28) and a significant direct effect for child engagement (b=7.15, p=.01). A significant interaction effect showed the moderating role of child engagement (b=4.98, p=.02), indicating that the link found between the quality of mother-child interactions and cognitive development is significant only for children with greater engagement in cognitive tasks (b=4.76, p=.03).

This study supports a vantage sensitivity model and suggests that clinical efforts directed at both child engagement and the quality of parent-child interactions are needed to improve cognitive development in maltreated children.

Authors

• Houria Bénard, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  Presenting Author

• Karine Dubois-Comtois, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)

• Chantal Cyr, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)