TY - JOUR
T1 - The practical implications of the emerging findings in the neurobiology of maltreatment for looked after and adopted children
T2 - recognising the diversity of outcomes
AU - Woolgar, Matt
PY - 2013/10/1
Y1 - 2013/10/1
N2 - The cutting-edge scientific research that is emerging regarding the neurobiological consequences of early maltreatment and neglect is highly relevant for thinking about the diverse needs of adopted and fostered children. Knowledge about the science has an important role to play in many areas, from child care proceedings to the mental health and educational needs of adopted children and young people. However, the science is complex and it is difficult to provide a succinct but valid summary of the rapidly expanding literature to guide practice. Indeed, there has been some concern from the scientists themselves that the research can be too easily misunderstood. The purpose of this article is to review some of the more recent research on the neurobiological consequences of maltreatment. A narrative is developed that pays due respect to the complexity of the findings, while drawing out practical implications for professionals working with adopted and fostered children. In particular, the notion of differential susceptibility and its consequences for individual differences in response to early negative environments is described. The science also stresses the inter-relatedness of the biological systems affected and, in turn, their dynamic relationships with environments over time. The article reviews the research relating to neuroscience, physiology and genetics in particular, before describing some animal research to integrate the various neurobiological consequences of maltreatment over the course of development, and which reveal implications for interventions.
AB - The cutting-edge scientific research that is emerging regarding the neurobiological consequences of early maltreatment and neglect is highly relevant for thinking about the diverse needs of adopted and fostered children. Knowledge about the science has an important role to play in many areas, from child care proceedings to the mental health and educational needs of adopted children and young people. However, the science is complex and it is difficult to provide a succinct but valid summary of the rapidly expanding literature to guide practice. Indeed, there has been some concern from the scientists themselves that the research can be too easily misunderstood. The purpose of this article is to review some of the more recent research on the neurobiological consequences of maltreatment. A narrative is developed that pays due respect to the complexity of the findings, while drawing out practical implications for professionals working with adopted and fostered children. In particular, the notion of differential susceptibility and its consequences for individual differences in response to early negative environments is described. The science also stresses the inter-relatedness of the biological systems affected and, in turn, their dynamic relationships with environments over time. The article reviews the research relating to neuroscience, physiology and genetics in particular, before describing some animal research to integrate the various neurobiological consequences of maltreatment over the course of development, and which reveal implications for interventions.
KW - adoption
KW - differential susceptibility
KW - fostering
KW - maltreatment
KW - neglect
KW - Neurobiology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953332931&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0308575913500021
DO - 10.1177/0308575913500021
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84953332931
SN - 0308-5759
VL - 37
SP - 237
EP - 252
JO - Adoption and Fostering
JF - Adoption and Fostering
IS - 3
ER -
