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. 2010 Dec 1;4(4):156-218.
doi: 10.1111/j.1751-228X.2010.01095.x. Epub 2010 Nov 11.

Effects of an Early Family Intervention on Children's Memory: The Mediating Effects of Cortisol Levels

Daphne Blunt Bugental  1 , Alex Schwartz, Colleen Lynch
Affiliations

Effects of an Early Family Intervention on Children's Memory: The Mediating Effects of Cortisol Levels

Daphne Blunt Bugental et al. Mind Brain Educ. .

Abstract

Developmental psychologists have long been concerned with the ways that early adversity influences children's long-term outcomes. In the current study, activity of the HPA axis of medically at-risk (e.g., preterm) infants was measured as a result of maternal participation in a novel cognitively-based home visitation program (versus a Healthy Start home visitation program). Maternal participation in the cognitive intervention predicted lower basal cortisol levels among infants - with reduced levels of maternal avoidance/withdrawal serving as a mediator of this relation. Lower cortisol levels in infancy, in turn, predicted higher verbal short-term memory at age 3. Short-term memory represents a cognitive ability that has importance for children's later educational outcomes. Findings provide experimental evidence concerning the pathway by which an early intervention may produce hormonal changes that can, in turn, influence children's learning outcomes.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Predicted direct and indirect effects of intervention condition. The direct effect of intervention on cortisol levels is shown as a broken line to indicate that the direct effect was not expected to be significant after controlling for mediating variables.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Basal cortisol levels (log transformed) of children in HV and HV+ conditions at intake, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year visits. Standard errors are .05 and .03 at intake (for HV+ and HV conditions), .02 and .06 at Year 1, .03 and .04 at Year 2, and .01 and .02 at Year 3. Mean untransformed cortisol values were .31 and .18 at intake, .15 and .28 at Year 1, .18 and .23 at Year 2, and .11 and .17 at Year 3.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effects of intervention condition on children’s 1-year cortisol levels, as mediated by maternal avoidance tactics. Values shown are unstandardized beta coefficients.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effects of intervention condition on children’s STM, as mediated by their 1-year cortisol levels. Values shown are unstandardized beta coefficients.
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