Regulatory skill as a resilience factor for adults with a history of foster care: a pilot study

Abstract

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.

Keywords: HPA axis; emotion; foster care; human; regulation; stress.

FIGURE 1

Group differences in Self-Reported Subscales of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ). Individuals with a history of foster care (FC) reported lower levels of inhibitory control than the comparison group.

FIGURE 2

A history of foster care (FC) is associated with poorer inhibitory control in the context of negative information. (A) As assessed by the emotional face go/nogo task, individuals in the FC group exhibited lower accuracy (i.e., hits minus false alarms) during blocks when negative facial expressions served as the “nogo” stimuli. (B) Examination of error type (omission versus commission errors) showed that the source of the group differences was specific to errors of commission (i.e., false alarms) during blocks when negative facial expressions served as the “nogo” stimuli. *Between group p < .05, ***within group p < .005.

FIGURE 3

Inhibitory control as a moderator of group differences. (A) Individuals in the foster care (FC) group with high self-reported inhibitory control had high accuracy during the negative “nogo” blocks on the emotional face go/nogo relative to those with low self-reported inhibitory control (plotted here are the results of a regression analysis). (B) Individuals in the foster care group with high self-reported inhibitory control reported greater use of cognitive reappraisal strategies relative to those with low self-reported inhibitory control (plotted here are the results of a regression analysis).

FIGURE 4

(A) Trait anxiety was higher in individuals in the foster care (FC) group. p < .05. (B) Reappraisal is an important moderator of the association between FC and trait anxiety. (C) The results of a regression analysis are plotted and show that individuals in the FC group with higher reappraisal skills had lower trait anxiety scores than those with lower reappraisal skills.

FIGURE 5

Associations with daily cortisol production. (A) Individuals with a history of foster care (FC) experience exhibit higher levels of daily salivary cortisol. (B) Greater reported use of reappraisal emotion regulation strategies is associated with greater declines in cortisol production throughout the day (more negative slopes).

FIGURE 6

Caregiving Experiences and Regulatory Skills. (A) A higher number of caregiver placements were associated with decreased inhibitory control as measured by the Adult Temperament Questionnaire. p < .05 (B) Older age when exited foster care (FC) was associated with lower reappraisal emotion regulation strategy use as measured by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.