Developmental Outcomes of Infants Adopted from Foster Care: Predictive Associations from Perinatal and Preplacement Risk Factors.

Infants adopted domestically from foster care often present with prenatal substance exposure and risky birth outcomes such as prematurity and low birth weight. Because few longitudinal studies of foster-adoptive infants exist, it is unclear how these preplacement risk factors influence development over time. The present study examined associations between perinatal risk factors and developmental outcomes among an ethnically/racially-diverse sample of 97 infants in foster-care (56% boys) placed into adoptive homes at ages 0-19 months. Relative to population-norms, foster-adoptive infants showed comparable cognitive but lower language and motor functioning at baseline and one-year follow-up. Age-adjusted language scores significantly improved one year following placement, consistent with a developmental "catch-up" effect. Low birth weight uniquely predicted lower language scores at baseline, but this association was no longer significant at follow-up. Prenatal substance exposure was associated with lower baseline cognitive scores, but only for infants placed after six months of age. In contrast, infants with low birth weight and later placement age (>12 months) showed the most accelerated motor development. Sex differences emerged at follow-up when predicting motor and language outcomes, suggesting potential sex-specific pathways of risk. Overall, results support adoption as an early intervention that may buffer vulnerability to perinatal risk on development.

In the trauma-informed care trenches: Teacher compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and intent to leave education within underserved elementary schools.

BACKGROUND: School-based trauma-informed care (TIC) represents a novel way of supporting children with trauma histories. However, minimal research has focused on how TIC impacts teacher wellbeing, which is concerning given the relationship between occupational stress and turnover from education. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated teacher characteristics associated with perceived effectiveness of TIC and intent to leave education. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study included 163 teachers in underserved elementary schools serving a high percentage of low-income, English-language learner Latinx students. METHODS: Teachers completed a survey regarding an ongoing TIC program and quality of life for helping professionals. RESULTS: Higher compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress (STS), as well as lower burnout, were associated with perceived effectiveness of TIC. Older teachers, and those with lower compassion satisfaction and higher burnout, were more likely to report intentions to leave education. STS and perceived effectiveness of TIC were not associated with turnover intent. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that teacher occupational wellbeing, particularly compassion satisfaction, plays a role in buy-in to TIC and retention among teachers.

When Treatment is Traumatic: An Empirical Review of Interventions for Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress.

Pediatric medical traumatic stress (PMTS) is common among injured/ill children and is associated with elevated distress, treatment non-adherence, and poor health outcomes. As survivorship of life-threatening pediatric injury and illness continues to increase alongside rapid medical advancements, rates of PMTS and negative sequelae are expected to grow; however, research on prevention and treatment of PMTS is limited. The current study sought to systematically review the literature using a developmental framework to highlight research gaps. Sixteen peer-reviewed studies were identified via a systematic literature search. Consistent with best practices for treatment of childhood trauma, caregiver involvement and CBT principles served as the foundation for most interventions. All studies reported improvements in PMTS; however, among the most methodologically rigorous, few found statistically superior reductions in PMTS between intervention and control groups. While many studies focused on a specific developmental stage and discussed developmental considerations, others took a "one-size-fits" approach. Interventions that demonstrated the most promising findings were online, self-guided, or time-limited. Future research would benefit from expanding diversity of participants, continuing to evaluate novel delivery methods, and integrating developmental considerations along with trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches, given their useful framework for understanding child traumatic stress responses and avenues for prevention and treatment.