Effects of an Early Family Intervention on Children's Memory: The Mediating Effects of Cortisol Levels.
Effects of an Early Family Intervention on Children's Memory: The Mediating Effects of Cortisol Levels.
复制标题
早期家庭干预对儿童记忆的影响：皮质醇水平的中介作用。
DOI：
10.1111/j.1751-228x.2010.01095.x
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发表时间：
2010
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Lynch,Colleen
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bugental,DaphneBlunt;Schwartz,Alex;Lynch,Colleen
长期以来，发展心理学家一直关注早期逆境影响儿童长期结果的方式。在目前的研究中，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴的活动，医学上的风险（例如，早产）婴儿作为母亲参与一种新的基于认知的家访计划（与健康开始家访计划相比）的结果进行测量。母亲参与认知干预预测婴儿基础皮质醇水平较低，母亲回避/退缩水平降低是这种关系的中介。婴儿期较低的皮质醇水平反过来预测了3岁时较高的言语短期记忆（STM）。短时记忆是一种认知能力，对儿童以后的教育成果具有重要意义。研究结果提供了有关早期干预可能产生激素变化的途径的实验证据，这些激素变化反过来会影响儿童的学习成果。
Developmental psychologists have long been concerned with the ways that early adversity influences children's long‐term outcomes. In the current study, activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis of medically at‐risk (e.g., preterm) infants was measured as a result of maternal participation in a novel cognitively based home visitation program (versus a Healthy Start home visitation program). Maternal participation in the cognitive intervention predicted lower basal cortisol levels among infants—with reduced levels of maternal avoidance/withdrawal serving as a mediator of this relation. Lower cortisol levels in infancy, in turn, predicted higher verbal short‐term memory (STM) at age 3. STM represents a cognitive ability that has importance for children's later educational outcomes. Findings provide experimental evidence concerning the pathway by which an early intervention may produce hormonal changes that can, in turn, influence children's learning outcomes.