1. Previously Institutionalized Toddlers' Social and Emotional Competence and Kindergarten Adjustment: Indirect Effects Through Executive Function.
- Author
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Perry, Nicole B., Donzella, Bonny, Mliner, Shanna B., and Reilly, Emily B.
- Subjects
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EXECUTIVE function , *TEACHER-student relationships , *PSYCHOLOGY of parents , *CHILD development , *SOCIAL adjustment , *COGNITION , *SHORT-term memory , *INTERPERSONAL relations , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *ELEMENTARY schools , *EMOTIONAL intelligence , *SOCIAL skills , *EMOTIONS , *EDUCATIONAL attainment , *INSTITUTIONAL care of children , *LONGITUDINAL method - Abstract
Longitudinal multimethod data across three time points were examined to explore the associations between previously institutionalized toddlers' (N = 71; 59% female) socioemotional skills (Time Point 1: 18 months to 3-years-old), executive functioning (i.e., attention, working memory, inhibitory control) in the preschool years (Time Point 2: 2–4-years-old), and adjustment in kindergarten (5–6-years-old). Children were from multiple regions (35% Eastern European, 31% Southeast Asian, 25% African, and 9% Latin American), and 90% of adoptive parents were White from the Midwestern United States. Socioemotional competency at Time Point 1 was associated with fewer attention problems and greater inhibitory control at Time Point 2, which were subsequently associated with more observed social competence, greater observed classroom competence, and less teacher-reported teacher–child conflict in kindergarten. Indirect effects from socioemotional competencies in toddlerhood to kindergarten adjustment via executive functioning during the preschool period emerged. Public Significance Statement: The current study provides an understanding of cognitive and socioemotional processes that link early institutional care with later academic and social functioning in kindergarten, and helps increase our current knowledge regarding the importance of adequate caregiving for domain-specific developmental processes while also identifying points of early intervention for previously institutionalized youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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