Cited by 47Child Welfare and AdoptionChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Deficits in error monitoring are associated with externalizing but not internalizing behaviors among children with a history of institutionalization

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Troller‐Renfree, Sonya, Nelson, Charles A., Zeanah, Charles H., Fox, Nathan A.·2016·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

Abstract

Background: Children raised in institutions are at increased risk of developing internalizing and externalizing problems. However, not all children raised in institutions develop psychopathology. Deficits in error monitoring may be one risk pathway for children with a history of institutionalization given that these skills are related to both internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders. Error monitoring and the neural circuitry that supports it have a protracted developmental time course and are highly susceptible to the effects of adversity. As such, they may play an important moderating role between a history of institutional rearing and subsequent psychopathology. Methods: We investigated the impact of psychosocial deprivation on behavioral and neural responses (event‐related potentials: ERP s) to a Flanker task assessing error monitoring and the relations between these measures and psychopathology for 12‐year‐old children in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project ( BEIP ). The BEIP involves two groups of institutionalized children randomly assigned in infancy to receive either a foster care intervention ( FCG ) or care as usual ( CAUG ). Results: Children who experienced institutional care, particularly those in the CAUG , showed perturbed behavioral performance and ERP s on the Flanker task. Additionally, an ERP measure of error monitoring [error‐related negativity (ERN)] moderated the relations between time spent in institutions and externalizing and ADHD behaviors. When the amplitude of the ERN was smaller, time spent in institutional care was positively related to ADHD and externalizing behaviors, whereas time spent in institutions was unrelated to externalizing problems when children evidenced a larger ERN. Neural correlates of error monitoring did not moderate the relations between time spent in institutionalized care and internalizing behaviors. Conclusions: Exposure to institutional care early in life may affect brain circuitry associated with error monitoring. Perturbations in this neural circuitry in combination with psychosocial deprivation are possibly a risk pathway associated with the development of externalizing and ADHD problems.

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  • Effects of foster care on the ERN appear to be late-emerging, with no significant group differences between foster care and continued institutional care from middle childhood to age 12 years.

    “Effects of foster care on the ERN appear to be late-emerging, with no significant group differences between foster care and continued institutional care from middle childhood to age 12 years (Loman et al., 2013; McDermott et al., 2013; TrollerRenfree et al., 2016).”

    From Foster care intervention protects cognitive control skills in young adults exposed to institutional rearing (2026) · cites this paper as Troller-Renfree et al., 2016

    The Results (ERP analyses; page unavailable) report no statistically significant difference in ΔERN between the foster-care and care-as-usual groups at about age 12 (p=.063). The Introduction describes findings at ages 8–11 as mixed, rather than establishing no group differences throughout middle childhood. The paper also does not show that foster-care effects emerge later. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • Findings from BEIP and other independent samples have revealed long-term error monitoring differences in previously institutionalized children that persist at least through adolescence.

    “Findings both from BEIP and other independent samples have revealed long-term error monitoring differences in previously institutionalized children that persist at least through adolescence (Buzzell et al., 2020; Debnath et al., 2023; Frenkel et al., 2020; Loman et al., 2013; McDermott et al., 2013; Troller-Renfree et al., 2016).”

    From Foster care intervention protects cognitive control skills in young adults exposed to institutional rearing (2026) · cites this paper as Troller-Renfree et al., 2016

    The Discussion reports error-monitoring differences in the BEIP sample at age 12, supporting persistence from early institutionalization into early adolescence. This paper does not establish persistence through later adolescence; its Introduction describes findings from another sample at ages 8–11 as mixed. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Across multiple ages and even in the absence of intervention group differences, ERN amplitude has been associated with psychosocial functioning in the BEIP at age 8, 12, and 16 years.

    “Nevertheless, across multiple ages and even in the absence of intervention group differences, ERN amplitude has been associated with psychosocial functioning in the BEIP at age 8, 12, and 16 years (Debnath et al., 2023; McDermott et al., 2013; Troller-Renfree et al., 2016), albeit sometimes in different directions, likely due to differences in analytic approach”
  • At BEIP's age 12 follow-up, there was a marginally significant effect of intervention on the ΔERN, and greater time spent in institutional care predicted smaller (less negative) ΔERNs.

    “However, at BEIP ' s age 12 follow-up, there was a marginally significant effect of intervention on the Δ ERN (the amplitude difference between the ERN and its correct-trial counterpart, the correct-related negativity or CRN), and greater time spent in institutional care predicted smaller (less negative) Δ ERNs, potentially signaling an emerging intervention effect (Troller-Renfree et al., 2016).”
  • Prior work has linked cognitive control dysfunction to specific forms of psychopathology in the context of neglect.

    “Prior work has linked cognitive control dysfunction to specific forms of psychopathology in the context of neglect (McDermott et al., 2013; Troller-Renfree et al., 2016).”

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Authors
Troller‐Renfree, S., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Fox, N. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Maryland, College Park (US)
  • Boston Children's Hospital (US)
  • Tulane University (US)
Corresponding author
Troller‐Renfree, Sonya
Venue
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-08-29
Volume
57
Issue
10
Pages
1145-1153
ISSN
  • 0021-9630 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7610
OpenAlex
W2510016857
Cited by
47
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
10.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH091363)
  • National Science Foundation (DGE1322106)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
error monitoring, error-related negativity, institutionalization, psychosocial deprivation, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, foster care, Bucharest Early Intervention Project, event-related potentials, flanker task, neural circuits, child psychopathology
MeSH terms
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child Behavior Disorders, Child, Institutionalized, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Male, Psychosocial Deprivation, Romania, Executive Function

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