The quality of caregiving and nurturing a child receives within the first two years of life directly affects brain development and IQ, say researchers from Tulane University. The study followed abandoned young children in Romanian orphanages and found that those placed in foster care at younger ages had significantly higher IQ's than those placed in foster care after the age of two.
"Our findings suggest that there may be a sensitive period in the first two years of life in which experiences are especially important in shaping cognitive development," said Tulane researcher Charles Zeanah. "This work adds to a growing body of scientific evidence about the importance of early relationship experiences."
The research, published in the journal Science, tracked 136 children between the ages of six months to 30 months who had been abandoned at birth or soon thereafter and placed into institutions in Bucharest, Romania. The findings showed that children placed in foster care within the first 18 months of life had the greatest gains in cognitive development compared to those placed in foster care later.
A follow-up survey of the same children a year later showed IQ's for the two groups placed in foster care after two years of age continued to significantly lag behind the group placed with families earlier in life.
The researchers say the results have implications for countries grappling with how best to care for abandoned, orphaned and abused children and re-enforce policies that favor foster families over institutionalized care for very young children.
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Source: Tulane University
