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Cited by 33Child Welfare and AdoptionLanguage Development and DisordersEarly Childhood Education and Development

Effect of foster care on language learning at eight years: findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Open access
WINDSOR, JENNIFER, MORARU, ANA, NELSON, CHARLES A., FOX, NATHAN A., ZEANAH, CHARLES H.·2013·Journal of Child Language
DOI 10.1017/s0305000912000177PMC PMC4127634
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Abstract

This study reports on language outcomes at eight years from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled study of foster care. We previously have shown that children placed in foster care by age two have substantially stronger preschool language outcomes than children placed later and children remaining in institutional care. One hundred and five children participated in the current study, fifty-four originally assigned to foster care and fifty-one to continued institutional care. Even though current placements varied, children originally in foster care had longer sentences and stronger sentence repetition and written word identification. Children placed in foster care by age two had significant advantages in word identification and nonword repetition; children placed by age 1 ; 3 performed equivalently to community peers. The results show the continuing adverse effects of early poor institutional care on later language development and the key importance of age of placement in a more optimal environment.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

At age 8 in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, children originally randomized to foster care showed better sentence repetition, longer utterances, and more written word identification than children originally assigned to continued institutional care. Earlier foster placement, especially by 25 months and particularly by 15 months, was associated with better nonword repetition and word identification, while current placement status did not significantly predict language performance.

Key findings

  • The original foster care group (FG) had significantly higher sentence repetition accuracy than the institution group (IG) (t = 2.10, p = .039) and higher mean length of utterance (t = 2.23, p = .028); the group effect was not significant for nonword repetition.
  • FG children had significantly higher written word identification accuracy than IG children (F(1,101) = 4.66, p = .033), and reading failure was higher in IG (13 of 50 children with zero scores) than FG (6 of 52 with zero scores) (χ2 = 4.07, p < .05); when zero scores were excluded, the group difference was not significant (F(1,82) = 3.96, p = .287).
  • Within the FG group, placement age had a significant negative effect on nonword repetition (r = −.325, p = .009) and a negative correlation with word identification (r = −.226, p = .054); FG children placed by 25 months had higher nonword repetition than later-placed FG children and IG children (p = .040) and higher word identification than later-placed FG children and IG children (p = .013).
  • Children placed by 15 months performed equivalently to never-institutionalized comparison peers on nonword repetition (98.4% vs. 99.1%) and word identification (70.9% vs. 73.8%); 42-month expressive language correlated with 8-year sentence repetition, nonword repetition, and word identification, but current placement status did not significantly affect language performance.

Methods

  • The study used the Bucharest Early Intervention Project randomized controlled trial; 105 children had 8-year language data: foster care group N = 54 (29 male), institution group N = 51 (26 male), plus a never-institutionalized comparison group N = 37 (15 male). Mean ages at 8-year assessment were 8;6 (FG) and 8;8 (IG); average foster placement age was 23 months.
  • Four Romanian expressive language measures were administered: nonword repetition, sentence repetition, written word identification, and mean length of utterance from a spontaneous language sample; 42-month expressive language was measured with an adaptation of the Reynell Developmental Language Scales.
  • Analyses used an intent-to-treat approach with MANOVA/regression and backwards elimination, ANOVA, and Pearson correlations; percentages for nonword repetition, sentence repetition, and word identification were arc-sine transformed, 4-syllable nonword accuracy was used because of ceiling effects, and three children younger than 7;6 were excluded from further analyses.

Limitations

  • The paper states there are no standardized tests of language or reading for Romanian-speaking children, so psycholinguistic criterion-referenced tasks were used; the tasks were not chosen to make a lexical-grammatical comparison, and the data were not sufficient for strong claims on that issue.
  • The paper notes that only 6 FG children were placed before 15 months, precluding a robust statistical comparison with the never-institutionalized group, and that current placement analyses had small and unequal samples, with larger variability in some current placement categories.
  • Evident from the text: current placement status was heterogeneous by 8 years, MLU was not available for the never-institutionalized comparison group, some MLU data were excluded because of no utterances or poor audio quality, and zero word identification scores complicated group comparisons.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s0305000912000177

Cites

42 of 42 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

12 tests recomputed · 0 with the reported and recomputed p on opposite sides of .05

Claims the paper makes

0 of 50 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data

    Children originally placed in Romanian foster care had longer sentences (higher MLU) at 8 years than children who originally lived in severely depriving institutional care.

    “Even though children had different placement status at 8 years, children originally placed in Romanian foster care had higher sentence repetition accuracy and longer sentences at 8 years than children who originally lived in severely depriving institutional care.”
    • Also stated in: § Effect of BEIP Foster Care · hedged
      “Post hoc univariate analyses indicated that the FG group had significantly higher SentRep accuracy than the IG group (t = 2.10, p = .039) and higher MLU (t = 2.23, p = .028).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Children placed in foster care by 25 months had higher word identification than children placed later.

    “Children placed in foster care by 25 months had significant advantages in nonword repetition and word identification than children placed later.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Romanian has a shallow orthography, with graphemes largely corresponding in a transparent way to phonemes.
    • Rests on an assumption: Children in Romania begin elementary education at 6 or 7 years old.
  • Findingown data

    Children placed in foster care by 25 months had higher nonword repetition than children placed later.

    “Children placed in foster care by 25 months had significant advantages in nonword repetition and word identification than children placed later.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    A larger number of children originally placed in foster care showed written word identification ability than children originally in institutional care.

    “A larger number of foster children also showed written word identification ability.”
    • Also stated in: § Effect of BEIP Foster Care · plain
      “Reading failure was significantly higher in the IG group (13 of 50 children had zero scores) than in the FG group (6 of 52 had zero scores) (χ2 = 4.07, p <.05).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Romanian has a shallow orthography, with graphemes largely corresponding in a transparent way to phonemes.
    • Rests on an assumption: Children in Romania begin elementary education at 6 or 7 years old.
  • Findingown data

    Children placed by 15 months performed equivalently to typical community peers on the language measures.

    “Children placed by 15 months performed equivalently to typical community peers on these measures.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 27
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 18

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The mean WI score for FG children placed by 15 months was 70.9% (SD = 16.8%), which approximated the NIG mean score of 73.8%.

    “No FG child placed by 15 months failed WI, and the mean WI score for this subgroup was 70.9% (SD = 16.8%) which approximated the NIG mean score of 73.8%.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    There were ceiling effects at shorter syllable lengths in NonRep, and 4-syllable accuracy was used as the dependent variable.

    “As has been found in other NonRep studies (Graf Estes et al., 2007), there were ceiling effects at shorter syllable lengths and 4-syllable accuracy was used as the dependent variable for this language measure.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Graf Estes et al., 2007

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Children's expressive language performance at 42 months was correlated with their 8-year language outcomes, except for MLU, with similar patterns of association for the IG and FG groups.

    “Children’s expressive language performance at 42 months was correlated with their 8-year language outcomes, except for MLU, with similar patterns of association for the IG and FG groups.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Children placed before 15 months had a mean NonRep accuracy of 98.4% (SD = 1.3%), which was equivalent to the NIG mean accuracy of 99.1%.

    “The children placed before 15 months had a mean NonRep accuracy of 98.4% (SD = 1.3%) which was equivalent to the NIG mean accuracy of 99.1%.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The only interaction effect in the selected regression model was for group x NonRep, but it was not significant (t(83)=1.47, p=.146).

    “The only interaction effect in the selected model was for group x NonRep. However the effect was not significant (t (83) = 1.47, p =.146) and a scatter plot showed no discernible difference in trends across groups.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    Group and chronological age emerged as the only significant predictors of NonRep, SentRep, and MLU in the initial regression.

    “A backwards elimination variable procedure was followed, with group (F(3,92) = 3.22, p = .016) and chronological age (F(3,92) = 2.77, p = .032) emerging as the only significant predictors in a subsequent MANOVA.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    FG children placed by 15 months had a mean MLU of 6.0 morphemes (SD = 1.9), which was equal to the average MLU of the full FG group.

    “FG children placed by 15 months had a mean MLU of 6.0 morphemes (SD = 1.9), which was equal to the average MLU of the full FG group.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the subgroup of FG children who remained in BEIP foster care at 8 years (n=24), the correlation between placement age and WI was negative but not statistically significant (r = −.203, p = .166).

    “A similar correlation was evident in the subgroup of FG children who remained in BEIP foster care at 8 years, but this also failed to reach significance with the smaller sample (n = 24, r = −.203, p = .166).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Within each group, there were significant moderate Pearson correlations between 42-month RDLS performance and 8-year SentRep and WI, and for the FG group also NonRep.

    “Table 4 shows there were significant moderate Pearson correlations within each group between 42-month performance and SentRep, WI, and for the FG group NonRep at 8 years.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    FG children placed by 15 months had mean SentRep accuracy of 65.9% (SD = 13.5%), which was equivalent to other FG children placed before and after 25 months and well below the NIG group.

    “FG children placed by 15 months had mean SentRep accuracy of 65.9% (SD = 13.5%), which was equivalent to other FG children placed before and after 25 months and well below the NIG group.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    For MLU, FG children placed later outperformed IG children, while FG children placed earlier had equivalent performance to the IG group.

    “For MLU, FG children placed later outperformed IG children, while FG children placed earlier had equivalent performance to the IG group.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Even though there are IG-FG group differences in MLU at 8 years, the children show robust grammatical performance.

    “Even though there are IG-FG group differences in MLU at 8 years, the children show robust grammatical performance (see Appendix B).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Although the difference was not significant, FG children placed before 25 months tended to have a slightly lower average MLU than children placed later (5.7 vs. 6.3 morphemes).

    “Indeed, although the difference was not significant, FG children placed before 25 months tended to have a slightly lower average MLU than children placed later (5.7 vs. 6.3 morphemes).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    The IG group were using five-morpheme sentences at 8 years, unlike the one- to two-morpheme sentences which characterized their language at 42 months.

    “Unlike the one- to two-morpheme sentences which characterized the IG group’s language at 42 months (Windsor et al., 2011), the IG group were using five-morpheme sentences at 8 years.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Windsor et al., 2011

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    There were a small number of FG children in government foster care at 8 years, with larger variability on some language measures within this current status than for other FG current status.

    “Notably, there were a small number of FG children in government foster care at 8 years, with larger variability on some language measures within this current status than for other FG current status.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Foster placement age had a significant effect on NonRep and WI, but not on SentRep or MLU.

    “On the other hand, foster placement age had a significant effect on NonRep and WI, but not on SentRep or MLU.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In populations with later language exposure, later language exposure leads to an observable difference in language outcomes beyond the gradual change associated with age, aligning with the concept of a sensitive period.

    “In these populations, the later language exposure leads to an observable difference in language outcomes beyond the gradual change that is associated with age, aligning well with the concept of a sensitive period(s) (Hakuta, Bialystok, & Wiley, 2003).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hakuta, Bialystok, & Wiley, 2003

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    A larger number of internationally adopted children than their peers continue to show language and other difficulties during the school years.

    “there are several studies indicating that a larger number of internationally adopted children than their peers continue to show language and other difficulties during the school years (Behen, 2008; Beverly, McGuinness, & Blanton, 2008; Loman, Wiik, Frenn, Pollak, & Gunnar, 2009).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Behen, 2008

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Beverly, McGuinness, & Blanton, 2008

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Loman, Wiik, Frenn, Pollak, & Gunnar, 2009

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Children with less than 6 months of institutional care showed somewhat poorer reading comprehension at 11 years than children who had not experienced institutional care, but were still within age expectations.

    “Children with less than 6 months of institutional care did show somewhat poorer reading comprehension at 11 years than children who had not experienced institutional care, but they were still within age expectations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Croft et al. (2007)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Preschoolers' syntactic growth and the proportion of complex sentences that teachers use are correlated beyond the potentially mediating effect of socioeconomic status.

    “For example, preschoolers’ syntactic growth and the proportion of complex sentences that teachers use has been found to be correlated beyond the potentially mediating effect of socioeconomic status (Huttenlocher, Vasilyeva, Cymerman, & Levine, 2002).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Huttenlocher, Vasilyeva, Cymerman, & Levine, 2002

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    BEIP foster care continued to have a significant effect on children's IQ at 8 years of age, with this effect especially evident for children who remained in this foster care at 8 years.

    “Recently, Fox, Almas, Degnan, Nelson, and Zeanah (2011) showed that BEIP foster care continued to have a significant effect on children’s IQ at 8 years of age, with this effect especially evident for children who remained in this foster care at 8 years.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fox, Almas, Degnan, Nelson, and Zeanah (2011)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premiseown data

    There was a more graded effect of placement age for these young children, with a robust correlation between placement age and language outcomes.

    “However, unlike Croft et al.’s (2007) results for older children, there was a more graded effect of placement age for these young children, with a robust correlation between placement age and language outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Croft et al. (2007)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The within-country foster placement allows for examination of the children's development in their native language and cultural context.

    “Unlike studies of international adoption, the within-country foster placement also allows for examination of the children’s development in their native language and cultural context.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    The MLU calculations were based on similar sample lengths for the remaining IG and FG children.

    “The MLU calculations were based on similar sample lengths for the remaining IG and FG children (IG: N = 46, M = 45.3 utterances, SD = 16.9; FG: N = 53, M = 51.0 utterances, SD = 14.0).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Intervention by speech-language pathologists has positive effects on some expressive language skills for young children with language delays.

    “Intervention by speech-language pathologists also has been found to have positive effects on some expressive language skills for young children with language delays (Law, Garrett, & Nye, 2004).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Law, Garrett, & Nye, 2004

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    The original intent-to-treat IG and FG groups were used to assess the intervention effect of BEIP foster care on language performance and the effect of foster care placement age.

    “The original intent-to-treat IG and FG groups were used to assess the intervention effect of BEIP foster care on language performance and the effect of foster care placement age.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationcitation

    These results parallel Croft et al.'s (2007) finding that early placement in a high-quality care environment is a critical factor in children's long-term language outcomes.

    “These results parallel Croft et al.’s (2007) finding that early placement in a high-quality care environment is a critical factor in children’s long-term language outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Croft et al.’s (2007)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    High quality foster placements, that would not otherwise have been available, were achieved for the FG children through collaboration with Romanian agencies.

    “High quality foster placements, that would not otherwise have been available, were achieved for the FG children through collaboration with Romanian agencies (see Zeanah et al., 2003 for details).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Zeanah et al., 2003

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    All tasks and stimuli were developed and scored in conjunction with native Romanian-speaking informants.

    “All tasks and stimuli were developed and scored in conjunction with native Romanian-speaking informants.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Kindergarteners' receptive vocabulary and quality of their preschool classrooms appear to be correlated.

    “Similarly, kindergarteners’ receptive vocabulary and quality of their preschool classrooms appears to be correlated (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2000).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2000

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The institutional care the children received was characterized by impoverished stimulation, structured routines, and a very low caregiver-child ratio.

    “The institutional care the children received was characterized by impoverished stimulation, structured routines, and a very low caregiver-child ratio.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Zeanah et al., 2003

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Unlike NonRep and WI, where the significant BEIP intervention effect was due to FG children placed by 25 months, for MLU the intervention effect was due to FG children placed after 25 months.

    “That is, unlike NonRep and WI in which the significant BEIP intervention effect was due to the FG children placed by 25 months, for MLU the intervention effect was due to the FG children placed after 25 months.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Even though there was a positive BEIP intervention effect in NonRep and WI, especially for early placement, the NIG group tended to have higher accuracy than FG children placed by 25 months on these two tasks and also in SentRep.

    “Even though there was a positive BEIP intervention effect in NonRep and WI, especially for early placement, the NIG group tended to have higher accuracy than FG children placed by 25 months on these two tasks and also in SentRep.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Moving to high-quality foster care before 33 months facilitated long-term morphosyntactic development, but not in a way that was associated with the specific age at which children moved to the high-quality care environment.

    “Moving to high-quality foster care before 33 months (the latest date of placement for any FG child) facilitated long-term morphosyntactic development, but not in a way that was associated with the specific age at which children moved to the high-quality care environment.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: BEIP foster care constitutes a high-quality care environment that is more optimal than institutional care.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Proficiency in the types of language used for academic purposes may be more difficult to achieve than conversational language.

    “Specifically, that proficiency in the types of language used for academic purposes may be more difficult to achieve than conversational language.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Cummins’ (1984)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Word learning takes place earlier than grammatical development.

    “Word learning takes place earlier than grammatical development.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bates et al., 1994

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Group status but not placement age effects were found on the tasks with a morphosyntactic component.

    “However, it is interesting that group status but not placement age effects were found on the tasks that with a morphosyntactic component.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Windsor et al. (2011) found that FG placement age was significantly correlated with MLU at 42 months.

    “By contrast, Windsor et al. (2011) found that FG placement age was significantly correlated with MLU at 42 months.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Windsor et al. (2011)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    There are different trajectories of lexical-semantic and grammatical growth for young children.

    “That there are different findings for different aspects of language accords well with there being different trajectories of lexical-semantic and grammatical growth for young children (Bates et al., 1994).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bates et al., 1994

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Even though the IG and FG groups did not show the same language proficiency at 8 years as their typically developing NIG peers, their language skills had continued to develop from younger ages.

    “Importantly, even though the IG and FG groups did not show the same language proficiency at 8 years as their typically developing NIG peers, their language skills had continued to develop from younger ages.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The NIG group is a typically developing community comparison group without institutional care.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Fox et al. (2011) found that the intervention effect of foster care on IQ was stronger for children who remained in BEIP foster care at 8 years.

    “Fox et al. (2011) found that the intervention effect of foster care on IQ was stronger for children who remained in BEIP foster care at 8 years.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fox et al. (2011)

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Placement age but not group effects were evident on the tasks with a word learning component.

    “Conversely, placement age but not group effects were evident on the tasks with a word learning component.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
42 of 42

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There are no standardized tests of language or reading for Romanian-speaking children.

    “There are no standardized tests of language or reading for Romanian-speaking children.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Romanian has a shallow orthography, with graphemes largely corresponding in a transparent way to phonemes.

    “Romanian has a shallow orthography, with graphemes largely corresponding in a transparent way to phonemes.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Children in Romania begin elementary education at 6 or 7 years old.

    “Children in Romania begin elementary education at 6 or 7 years old”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    BEIP foster care constitutes a high-quality care environment that is more optimal than institutional care.

    “Children placed in a more optimal environment during the first 2 years of life have greater expressive and receptive language skills than those placed later (Windsor et al., 2011).”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The NIG group is a typically developing community comparison group without institutional care.

    “their typically developing NIG peers”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The language measures used (NonRep, SentRep, MLU, WI, RDLS) validly measure the language constructs they are intended to measure.

    “our study used criterion-referenced measures”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Placement age is accurately recorded and reflects the age at which children moved to foster care.

    “age of foster placement”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Current placement status categories are valid and reliably measured.

    “current placement status”
8 of 8

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Foster care intervention in the BEIP is associated with increased language (e.g., word identification).

    “↑ Language (e.g., word identification) (Windsor et al., 2007(Windsor et al., , 2011(Windsor et al., , 2013) )”

    From Resilience following severe early life neglect: A review of longitudinal evidence from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (2026) · cites this paper as Windsor et al., 2013

  • Studies in this cohort have shown that although multiple areas of development are impaired among ever-institutionalized children, foster care placement leads to improvement in some areas but not in other areas, including motor function based on the results of the current study.

    “Studies in this cohort have shown that although multiple areas of development are impaired among ever-institutionalized children, foster care placement leads to improvement in some areas (e.g. cognition,2,3 attachment,5,6,40, language7–9, depression, anxiety,10,12 stereotypies,11 and growth41) but not in other areas”

    From Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation (2014) · cites this paper as [9]

Statistics that don’t add up

Each reported p-value recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom.

  • Inconsistent p-value: F(3,92) = 3.22, p = .016

    Minor

    The paper reports p = .016 here; recomputing from the test statistic and its degrees of freedom gives p = .026. The check cannot tell whether the statistic or the p-value is the misprint.

    Reported p = .016 · recomputed p = .026

  • Inconsistent p-value: F(3,89) = 2.72, p = .034

    Minor

    The paper reports p = .034 here; recomputing from the test statistic and its degrees of freedom gives p = .049. The check cannot tell whether the statistic or the p-value is the misprint.

    Reported p = .034 · recomputed p = .049

  • Inconsistent p-value: F(1,82) = 3.96, p = .287

    Minor

    The paper reports p = .287 here; recomputing from the test statistic and its degrees of freedom gives p = .050. The check cannot tell whether the statistic or the p-value is the misprint.

    Reported p = .287 · recomputed p = .050

  • Inconsistent p-value: F(3,92) = 2.77, p = .032

    Minor

    The paper reports p = .032 here; recomputing from the test statistic and its degrees of freedom gives p = .046. The check cannot tell whether the statistic or the p-value is the misprint.

    Reported p = .032 · recomputed p = .046

4 of 4

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 92) = 3.22reported p = .016 · recomputed p = .026

    “F(3,92) = 3.22, p = .016”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 92) = 2.77reported p = .032 · recomputed p = .046

    “F(3,92) = 2.77, p = .032”

  • Doesn’t add upF(3, 89) = 2.72reported p = .034 · recomputed p = .049

    “F(3,89) = 2.72, p = .034”

  • Doesn’t add upF(1, 82) = 3.96reported p = .287 · recomputed p = .050

    “F(1,82) = 3.96, p = .287”

  • ConsistentF(4, 89) = 1.79reported p = .138 · recomputed p = .138

    “F(4,89) = 1.79, p = .138”

  • ConsistentF(1, 101) = 4.66reported p = .033 · recomputed p = .033

    “F(1,101) = 4.66, p = .033”

  • ConsistentF(3, 138) = 9.49reported p = .009 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(3,138) = 9.49, p = .009”

    The paper states a correction for multiple tests

  • ConsistentF(3, 138) = 9.08reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(3,138) = 9.08, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(3, 117) = 5.78reported p = .001 · recomputed p = .001

    “F(3,117) = 5.78, p = .001”

  • ConsistentF(3, 138) = 21.17reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “F(3,138) = 21.17, p < .001”

  • ConsistentF(2, 95) = 3.96reported p = .022 · recomputed p = .022

    “F(2,95) = 3.96, p = .022”

  • Consistentt(83) = 1.47reported p = .146 · recomputed p = .145

    “t (83) = 1.47, p = .146”

12 of 12

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Word-identification ANOVA degrees of freedom do not match the reported group sizes

    Minor

    The reported groups contain 50 and 52 children, so a two-group ANOVA would have 100 residual degrees of freedom, not 101. Excluding the reported 13 and 6 zero scorers leaves 83 children and 81 residual degrees of freedom, not 82.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Edwards, 1997, The Reynell Developmental Language Scales III
  2. Semel, 2003, Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–4

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
WINDSOR, J., MORARU, A., NELSON, C. A., FOX, N. A., & ZEANAH, C. H.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
  • Tulane University (US)
Corresponding author
WINDSOR, JENNIFER
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Child Language
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2012-05-14
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
605-627
ISSN
  • 0305-0009 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7602
DOI
10.1017/s0305000912000177
PMC
PMC4127634
OpenAlex
W2095813509
Cited by
33
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2
FWCI
4.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Journal of Child Language (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH091363)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD018655)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
Keywords
foster care, institutional care, language development, Bucharest Early Intervention Project, sentence length, sentence imitation, word recognition, non-word repetition, early intervention, child language outcomes
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Child, Child Language, Child, Institutionalized, Child, Preschool, Female, Foster Home Care, Humans, Linguistics, Male, Romania, Vocabulary

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-10.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-10.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

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