By Maya Listman

Children who experience significant adversity early on in life may end up carrying the effects with them for a long time. And children who grow up in the foster care system are at risk to carry hardships with them through adolescence.

A new Tulane University study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is the first to show that intervention can prevent destructive behaviors which the researchers characterize as “callous interpersonal interactions and lack of guilt or empathy” in a child who has experienced significant adversity. This type of destructive behavior affects approximately one percent of the population.

Researchers conducted a longitudinal study beginning in the early 2000’s. They measured levels of callous-unemotional behavior in 12-year-olds from a group of children in Romanian orphanages, half of whom were placed in high-quality foster care as toddlers, the other half of whom grew up in institutional care. The results were then compared with children who were never orphans. Researchers observed children with their foster caregivers and found that the more sensitive a caregiver was to the child’s distress, the less callous and more empathetic the children grew up to be.

Being a sensitive aunt can help your nieces and nephews grow up to be more empathetic. When children experience hardships, the way you care for them can help mold the young adult they grow up to be.

Photo: monkeybusinessimages
Published: December 15, 2015