Cognitive Development and Adaptive Skills of Children in Institutions of Russian Federation

893

Abstract

In present study we examine cognitive development and adaptive skills of children raised in institutions (called Baby Homes) in Russian Federation. Previously it was shown that children in institutions leg behind their age peers in physical and motor development, show deficits in cognitive and language development. However, during the last few years important changes have been introduced in the institutional care system in Russian Federation and there is a dearth of research on cognitive development of children in Baby Homes after the changes have been implemented. The purpose of the current study was to examine cognitive development and adaptive skills of children residing in modern baby homes. We examined 59 children in the age range from 35 to 59 months: 38 children living in baby homes (M = 45,42, SD = 7.04; 17 girls, 21 boys) and 21 children living in biological families (M = 44,90, SD = 7,76; 13 girls, 8 boys). To evaluate cognitive development of children we used three non-verbal scales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Vineland Behavior Adaptive Scales to obtain information about children’s adaptive skills. Results show that children in baby homes show significantly lower scores on all the scales of cognitive development and adaptive skills in comparison with children in biological families. These results demonstrate the necessity of future changes in the institutional care system in order to improve the environment for children in institutions, nurturing their development.

General Information

Keywords: deprivation, cognitive development, adaptive behavior, institutionalization, young children

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2018070204

Funding. The research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanities (project №16-36-01103) and the Government of Russian Federation (project №14.Z50.31.0027)

For citation: Kolesnikova M.A., Zhukova M.A., Ovchinnikova I.V. Cognitive Development and Adaptive Skills of Children in Institutions of Russian Federation [Elektronnyi resurs]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2018. Vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 53–69. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2018070204. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Margarita A. Kolesnikova, Engineer-Researcher, Laboratory of Translational Sciences of Human Development, Saint-Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: margarita.tanaeva@gmail.com

Marina A. Zhukova, PhD in Psychology, Postdoctoral Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3069-570X, e-mail: marina.zhukova@childrens.harvard.edu

Irina V. Ovchinnikova, Junior Research Fellow, Laboratory of Translational Sciences of Human Development, Saint-Petersburg State University, St.Petersburg, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5950-5765, e-mail: ovchinir@gmail.com

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