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Regulatory skill as a resilience factor for adults with a history of foster care: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Johnson Angela J.,
Tottenham Nim
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21227
Subject(s) - psychological resilience , psychology , cognitive reappraisal , anxiety , cognition , trait , clinical psychology , intervention (counseling) , expressive suppression , developmental psychology , mental health , psychiatry , social psychology , computer science , programming language
Individuals with a history of foster care (FC) are at elevated risk for emotion regulation‐related mental illness. The purpose of the current study was to characterize regulatory function in a group of adults with a history of FC ( N = 26) relative to those without a history of FC ( N = 27) and how regulatory function moderates adverse caregiving‐related outcomes (daily cortisol production and trait anxiety). Self‐report items (anxiety, emotion regulation strategies, inhibitory control, caregiving history) were collected along with more objective measures (computerized task and salivary cortisol). Inhibitory control was assessed via self‐report and a computerized task (emotional face go/nogo). Results showed that for adults with a history of FC, higher levels of inhibitory control were associated with higher accuracy on the emotional face go/nogo task and greater reported use of the emotion regulation strategy cognitive reappraisal. Greater use of cognitive reappraisal in turn was associated with healthier stress‐related outcomes (decreased trait anxiety and steeper sloped cortisol production throughout the day). Dose‐response associations were observed between self‐reported regulatory skills and FC experiences (i.e., number of placements and age when exited foster care). These findings suggest that adverse caregiving can have long‐term influences on mental health that extend into adulthood; however, individual differences in regulatory skills moderate these outcomes and may be an important target for intervention following caregiving adversity. © 2014 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc . Dev Psychobiol 57: 1–16, 2015.