Effects of a school readiness intervention on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning and school adjustment for children in foster care.
Effects of a school readiness intervention on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning and school adjustment for children in foster care.
复制标题
DOI：
10.1017/s0954579417001171
复制
发表时间：
2018-05
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Fisher PA
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Graham AM;Pears KC;Kim HK;Bruce J;Fisher PA
被虐待的儿童在寄养环境中有较高的下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴功能失调和教育困难的风险。本研究考察了短期入学准备干预对幼稚园入学后HPA轴功能的影响，以及HPA轴功能的改变是否会影响儿童的学校适应。与寄养对照组相比，干预组的儿童在上学的第一天表现出更陡峭的皮质醇斜率，这是以前在未受虐待的儿童中观察到的模式。较陡的第一天上学日皮质醇斜率预测教师在幼儿园秋季对更好的学校适应（即学业表现，适当的课堂行为和学习参与）的评价。此外，儿童对开学的HPA轴反应介导了干预对学校适应的影响。这些发现支持了针对关键过渡时期（如正规学校教育的过渡）的干预措施可能产生的改善效果。这种入学准备干预似乎影响了压力神经生物学，这反过来又促进了早期经历过重大逆境的儿童积极参与学校环境和更好的学校适应。
Maltreated children in foster care are at high risk for dysregulated hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning and educational difficulties. The present study examined the effects of a short-term school readiness intervention on HPA axis functioning in response to the start of kindergarten, a critical transition marking entry to formal schooling, and whether altered HPA axis functioning influenced children’s school adjustment. Compared to a foster care comparison group, children in the intervention group showed a steeper diurnal cortisol slope on the first day of school, a pattern previously observed among nonmaltreated children. A steeper first day of school diurnal cortisol slope predicted teacher ratings of better school adjustment (i.e., academic performance, appropriate classroom behaviors, and engagement in learning) in the fall of kindergarten. Furthermore, the children’s HPA axis response to the start of school mediated the effect of the intervention on school adjustment. These findings support the potential for ameliorative effects of interventions targeting critical transitional periods, such as the transition of formal schooling. This school readiness intervention appears to influence stress neurobiology, which in turn facilitates positive engagement with the school environment and better school adjustment in children who have experienced significant early adversity.