Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T20:41:59.580Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social cognitive deficits and biases in maltreated adolescents in UK out-of-home care: Relation to disinhibited attachment disorder and psychopathology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2015

Catherine L. Kay  and
Jonathan M. Green
Catherine L. Kay*
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Jonathan M. Green
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Catherine Kay, Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Mental Health, Room 3.316, Jean McFarlane Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, England; E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Children entering out-of-home (OoH) care have often experienced multiple forms of maltreatment and are at risk of psychiatric disorder and poor long-term outcome. Recent evidence shows high rates of disinhibited attachment disorder (DAD) among maltreated adolescents in UK OoH care (Kay & Green, 2013). This study aimed to further understand the mechanisms of outcome in this group through investigation of social cognitive functioning. Patterns of theory of mind (ToM) and social information processing were assessed alongside DAD behavior and psychopathology in 63 adolescents in UK OoH care (mean age = 176 months, SD = 22; 48% male; 89% White British) and 69 low-risk comparison adolescents (mean age = 171 months, SD = 17; 46% male; 87% White British). Compared to low risk, OoH adolescents showed a hostile attribution bias and ToM deficit, but this was confounded by language ability. ToM was associated with reduced hostile attribution and responding biases and increased social competence, which was further associated with lower levels of externalizing psychopathology. There was no association between social cognition and core features of DAD. Social cognitive deficits and biases may play a role in the high rates of externalizing psychopathology and relationship functioning difficulties in maltreated samples. Future research should assess alternative cognitive mechanisms for DAD.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 2016 , pp. 73 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont.Google Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a theory of mind? Cognition, 21, 37–46.Google Scholar
Biehal, N., Clayden, M., Stein, M., & Wade, J. (1995). Moving on: Young people and leaving care schemes. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Bickett, L., Milich, R., & Brown, R. (1996). Attributional styles of aggressive boys and their mothers. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24, 457–472.Google Scholar
Biehal, N., Ellison, S., Sinclair, I., Randerson, C., Richards, A. Mallon, S., et al. (2010). A report on the intensive fostering pilot program. London: Youth Justice Board.Google Scholar
Bosacki, S., & Astington, J. (1999). Theory of mind in preadolescence: Relations between social understanding and social competence. Social Development, 8, 237–255.Google Scholar
Bruce, J., Tarullo, A., & Gunnar, M. (2009). Disinhibited social behavior among internationally adopted children. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 157–171.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Maughan, A., Toth, S. L., & Bruce, J. (2003). False belief understanding in maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 1067–1091.Google Scholar
Colvert, E., Rutter, M., Kreppner, J., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Groothues, C., et al. (2008). Do theory of mind and executive function deficits underlie the adverse outcomes associated with profound early deprivation? Findings from the English and Romanian Adoptees Study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 1057–1068.Google Scholar
Conduct Disorders Research and Prevention Group. (1999). Initial impact of the fast track prevention trial for conduct problems: I. The high-risk sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 631–647.Google Scholar
Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 74–101.Google Scholar
de Villiers, F. (2007). The interface of language and theory of mind. Journal of Linguistics, 117, 1858–1878.Google Scholar
Dimigen, G., Del Priore, C., Butler, S., Evans, S., Ferguson, L., & Swan, M. (1999). Psychiatric disorder among children at time of entering local authority care: Questionnaire survey. British Medical Journal, 319, 675.Google Scholar
Dodge, K. A., McClaskey, C. L., & Feldman, E. (1985). Situational approach to the assessment of social competence in children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 344–353.Google Scholar
Dodge, K., Pettit, G., Bates, J., & Valenti, E. (1995). Social information processing patterns partially mediate the effect of physical abuse on later conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 632–645.Google Scholar
Dunn, J., Brown, J., Slomkowski, C., Tesla, C., & Youngblade, L. (1991). Young children's understanding of other people's feelings and beliefs: Individual differences and their antecedents. Child Development, 62, 1352–1366.Google Scholar
Dunn, L., Dunn., l., Whetton, C., & Burley, J. (1997). The British Picture Vocabulary Scale. Windsor: Nfer–Nelson.Google Scholar
Edwards, A., Shipman, K., & Brown, A. (2005). The socialization of emotional understanding: A comparison of neglectful and non-neglectful mothers and their children. Child Maltreatment, 10, 293–304.Google Scholar
Ensor, R., & Hughes, C. (2008). Content or connectedness? Early family talk and theory of mind in the toddler and preschool years. Child Development, 79, 201–216.Google Scholar
Ensor, R., Spencer, D., & Hughes, C. (2011). “You feel sad?” emotion understanding mediates effects of verbal ability and mother–child mutuality on prosocial behaviors: Findings from 2 years to 4 years. Social Development, 20, 93–110.Google Scholar
Ford, T., Vostanis, P., Meltzer, H., & Goodman, R. (2007). Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 319–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gomez, R., Gomez, A., Demello, L., & Tallent, R. (2001). Perceived maternal control and support: Effects on hostile biased social information processing and aggression among clinic-referred children with high aggression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 513–522.Google Scholar
Green, J., Biehal, N., Roberts, C., Dixon, J., Kay, C., Parry, E., et al. (2014) Multidimensional treatment foster care for adolescents in English care: Randomised trial and observational cohort evaluation. British Journal of Psychiatry, 204, 214–221.Google Scholar
Happé, F. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters' thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 124–155.Google Scholar
Happe, F., & Frith, U. (1996). Theory of mind and social impairment in children with conduct disorder. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14, 385–398.Google Scholar
Horan, S., Kang, G., Levine, M., Duax, C., Luntz, B., & Tasa, C. (1993). Empirical studies on foster care: Review and assessment. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 20, 131–154.Google Scholar
Hughes, C., Dunn, J., & White, A. (1998). Trick or treat? Uneven understanding of mind and emotion and executive dysfunction in “hard-to-manage” preschoolers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 981–984.Google Scholar
Hughes, C., Jaffee, S., Happe, F., Taylor, A., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. (2005). Origins of individual differences in theory of mind: From nature to nurture? Child Development, 76, 356–370.Google Scholar
Kay, C., & Green, J. (2013). Reactive attachment disorder following early maltreatment: Systematic evidence beyond the institution. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 571–581.Google Scholar
Kreppner, J., Colvert, E., & O'Connor, T. (2001). Manual for coding narrative quality from the Friendship Interview. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Kreppner, J., Kumsta, R., Rutter, M., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Stevens, S., et al. (2010). Developmental course of deprivation-specific psychological patterns: Early manifestations, persistence to age 15, and clinical features. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 75, 79–101.Google Scholar
Lyons-Ruth, K., Bureau, J. F., Riley, C. D., & Atlas-Corbett, A. F. (2009). Socially indiscriminate attachment behavior in the Strange Situation: Convergent and discriminant validity in relation to caregiving risk, later behavior problems, and attachment insecurity. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 355–372.Google Scholar
Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., Wainwright, R., Clark-Carter, D., Das Gupta, M., Fradley, E. et al. (2003). Pathways to understanding mind: Construct validity and predictive validity of maternal mind-mindedness. Child Development, 74, 1194–1211.Google Scholar
Meltzer, H., Gatward, R., Goodman, R., & Ford, T. (2000). Mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. London: Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Minnis, H., & Goodman, R. (n.d.). Development and Well-Being Assessment. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Minnis, H., Green, J., O'Connor, T. G., Liew, A., Glaser, D., Taylor, E., et al. (2009). An exploratory study of the association between reactive attachment disorder and attachment narratives in early school-age children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 931–942.Google Scholar
Minnis, H., Reekie, J., Young, D., O'Connor, T., Ronald, A., Gray, A., et al. (2007). Genetic, environmental and gender influences on attachment disorder behaviors. British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 490–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasby, W., Hayden, B., & Depaulo, B. (1979). Attributional bias among aggressive boys to interpret unambiguous social stimuli as displays of hostility. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 459–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noble, M., Wright, G., Dibben, C., Smith, G. A. N., McLennan, D., Anttila, C., et al. (2004). The English Indices of Deprivation 2004 (rev.). London: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Bredenkamp, D., & Rutter, M. (1999). Attachment disturbances and disorders in children exposed to early severe deprivation. Infant Mental Health Journal, 20, 10–29.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Rutter, M., & The English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team. (2000). Attachment disorder behavior following early severe deprivation: Extension and longitudinal follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 703–712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olsavsky, A. K., Telzer, E. H., Shapiro, M., Humphreys, K. L., Flannery, J., Godd, B., et al. (2013). Indiscriminate amygdala response to mothers and strangers after early maternal deprivation. Biological Psychiatry, 74, 853–860.Google Scholar
Pears, K. C., Bruce, J., Fisher, P. A., & Kim, H. K. (2010). Indiscriminate friendliness in maltreated foster children. Child Maltreatment, 15, 64–75.Google Scholar
Pears, K. C., & Fisher, P. A. (2005). Emotion understanding and theory of mind amongst maltreated children in foster care: Evidence of deficits. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 47–65.Google Scholar
Rushton, A., & Minnis, H. (2008). Residential and foster family care. In Rutter, M., Bishop, D., Pine, D., Scott, S., Stevenson, J. S., Taylor, E. A., et al. (Eds.), Rutter's child and adolescent psychiatry (pp. 487–501). Oxford: Wiley–Blackwell.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., Colvert, E., Kreppner, J., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Grootheus, C., et al. (2007). Early adolescent outcomes of institutionally deprived and non-deprived adoptees. I: Disinhibited attachment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 17–30.Google Scholar
Shipman, L. L., & Zeman, J. (2001). Socialization of children's emotion regulation in mother–child dyads: A developmental psychopathology perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 317–336.Google Scholar
Smyke, A. T., Zeanah, C. H., Gleason, M. M., Drury, S. S., Fox, N. A., Nelson, C. A., et al. (2012). A randomized controlled trial comparing foster care and institutional care for children with signs of reactive attachment disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169, 508–514.Google Scholar
Teisl, M., & Cicchetti, D. (2008). Physical abuse, cognitive and emotional processes, and aggressive/disruptive behavior problems. Social Development, 17, 1–23.Google Scholar
UK Department for Education. (2013). Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2013. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/244872/SFR36_2013.pdf Google Scholar
Weiss, B., Dodge, K., Bates, J., & Petit, G. (1992). Some consequences of early harsh discipline: Child aggression and a maladaptive social information processing style. Child Development, 63, 1321–1335.Google Scholar
White, S., Hill, E., Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2009). Revisiting the strange stories: Revealing mentalizing impairments in autism. Child Development, 80, 1097–1117.Google Scholar
Zeanah, C. H., & Gleason, M. M. (2010). Reactive attachment disorder: A review for DSM-V. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://www.dsm5.org/Proposed%20Revision%20Attachments/APA%20DSM-5%20Reactive%20Attachment%20Disorder%20Review.pdf Google Scholar