Loving Foster Homes Improve Attention, Impulsivity

A study that will appear in the March issue of Pediatrics has found that foster children who are placed in loving, stable homes have fewer issues with attention and impulsivity.

• The study was conducted through the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
• The study followed 252 children in 95 families for four years.
• Researchers talked with biological parents, foster parents, teachers and the children themselves.
• Most interesting and encouraging to researches was the affect environment had on symptoms related to ADHD – a disorder with proven biological components.

"Children whose parents reported higher parental warmth – how much do the parents like the child, how much affection the parent reports toward the child, how much time they spend together – showed fewer ADHD symptoms," HealthDay News reported, "while children whose parents reported hostility – being annoyed at the child, thinking the child a burden, being angry at the child – showed more ADHD symptoms."

Labels: attention, foster care, impulsivity