A new study involving a Tulane expert on child psychology shows that quality foster care can help reverse damage done to abused boys. Without the intervention, children can become callous and unemotional.
The study was led by Dr. Charles Zeanah, a professor of psychiatry and clinical pediatrics at Tulane University. He’s co-authored a book about the children from Romanian orphanages, where they were often left alone in harsh conditions.
Zeanah’s team followed some of those children over several years, starting when the boys were 3 ½ years old. Some were assigned quality foster parents while others remained in the institution. The study reflects the state of the children when they were 12.
“The experiences that the boys had very early led to this dramatic reduction in the likelihood that they would develop these traits," he said. "That’s never been shown before.”
Zeanah says he hopes the research will show benefits of nurturing all children in distress.
“The study has implications well beyond children in Romania or even children living in institutions," he said. "Any child who experiences severe social and emotional neglect and requires care, what this study suggests is the quality of that care matters greatly in terms of their later outcomes.”
Researches will follow up on the children when they reach 16. The study is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
