Polyvictimization and externalizing symptoms in foster care children: The moderating role of executive function

ABSTRACT

Prior research has identified the role of childhood maltreatment in externalizing problems and executive function (EF) deficits, but minimal work has been done to characterize the effects of co-occurring maltreatment types, defined as polyvictimization. Here, we sought to characterize the association between polyvictimization and externalizing problems in a sample of foster care children aged 3–4 years (N = 84) and examine how EF may mediate or moderate that relationship. A moderation model was supported in that only polyvictimized children with EF scores 1.62 or more standard deviations below the mean were at heightened risk for clinically severe externalizing problems, while no association between polyvictimization and externalizing problems were observed for children who scored at the mean or above on the EF measure. Findings highlight that EF may serve as a resilience factor indicating that individual differences in polyvictimized children’s EF skills help to predict variability in externalizing problems. Future research on designing and optimizing intervention programs that target EF skills may mitigate the development of maladaptive outcomes for polyvictimized children.

KEYWORDS:

• Polyvictimization
• childhood maltreatment
• externalizing problems
• attention
• executive functioning

Acknowledgments

Research support was provided by the following grants: R01 MH059780, NIMH, U.S. PHS; R21 MH065046; and R01 DA021424, NIDA, U.S. PHS.

Philip A. Fisher received support from NIH grants R01 HD075716 and P50 DA035763.

Leslie E. Roos received support from HHS-2014-ACF-ACYF-CA-0803.