Relationships between executive function of children in residential care and caregivers’ discipline style: a pilot study.

Despite legislative efforts to ensure that the Residential Care (RC) guarantees good care for children, there are difficulties inherent to the profile of the foster population. One of the areas affected in this population is executive functions. However, there is a lack of information on how these functions are related to other variables as affective relationships (affection/communication and criticism/rejection) and the discipline styles of caregivers. Therefore, this research aims to study these relationships. Forty-six boys and girls between 10 and 16 years old and thirty-nine caregivers from seven residential centres participated in the study. This work is a pilot study within a larger research that includes all the RC centres in the province of Malaga (Spain). BRIEF-2 Family version was used to assess executive functions, while Warmth Scale (EA) and the Rules-Demands Scale (ENE) were used to asses affection and discipline style of caregivers. The results showed that: (a) about 50% of the sample shows scores classified as high or clinically significant on all scales and indexes of executive functions, while the general Spanish population shows only 16-19% in this same categories, (b) higher scores on perceived criticism/rejection show a postive correlation with difficulties in emotional and cognitive control, and (c) an indulgent/permissive discipline style is positively correlated to cognitive control problems. These results are not conclusive, as they correspond to the pilot study phase, nevertheless they already point to the need of deeper research about the difficulties presented by the population in RC in terms of executive functions.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Affection and disciplinary style perceived by children in residential care: relationships with quality standards in residential care.

Residential foster care is still an essential resource to protect children. In Spain there are 16,000 children in residential care, therefore it is necessary to continue improving quality in residential childcare. This study analyzed how foster children and youth perceive the quality of care in the residential home, the affective relationships (affection/communication and criticism/rejection) and the discipline style of caregivers. Also studied was the relationship between quality of the residential home and with affection and disciplinary style. Forty-six boys and girls aged between 10 and 16 years old, from seven residential centers in Malaga (Spain), participated in the study. An ad hoc questionnaire based on the Quality Standards (EQUAR) was created to evaluate quality of care in the residential home. Warmth Scale (EA) and the Rules-Demands Scale (ENE) were used to asses affection and discipline style of caregivers. The results showed that: 1) foster children evaluate the quality of care positively, 2) they perceive more affection/communication than criticism/rejection by the caregivers and, mostly, inductive and authoritarian discipline, 3) when they perceive more affection/communication (and less criticism/rejection) and more inductive styles, they also evaluate with higher scores the quality of the foster home. These results show that children and youth perceive the quality of care provided in residential care programs positively, and perceive higher quality care, when they perceive more affection, less rejection, and more appropriate discipline styles. Future studies could provide information on whether the quality of care influences the affective relationships and the discipline styles displayed by caregivers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Relaciones entre ajuste escolar y temperamento en menores con medida de acogimiento residencial básico .de la provincia de Málaga: estudio piloto

Resumen de la comunicación presentada.Los trabajos de investigación recientes resaltan las problemáticas de esta población, relacionadas principalmente con problemas en las funciones ejecutivas y el ajuste escolar. Sin embargo, a pesar de estas problemáticas, existen menores que presentan una adecuada adaptación y pocos problemas de salud o de ajuste social o académico, lo que indica que existen otros factores (diferencias individuales) que también influyen. Por otro lado, en otras poblaciones se observan relaciones claras entre el ajuste escolar y el temperamento. Por esta razón, en esta investigación se analizan los posibles factores explicativos de dicho ajuste relacionados con el temperamento y se asume una visión holística del ajuste escolar, considerando además del rendimiento académico otros factores esenciales (adaptación al contexto escolar y expectativas académicas). Participaron 41 menores (20 mujeres) en Acogimiento Residencial Básico de la provincia de Málaga, con edades comprendidas entre 11 y 16 años (M= 14.4; DE= 1.41). Se utilizaron 3 instrumentos: EATQ-R, para evaluar el temperamento, EBAE-10 para evaluar el ajuste escolar y un cuestionario ad hoc sobre calificaciones obtenidas recientemente. En cuanto a los predictores de ajuste escolar, es destacable que las dimensiones del temperamento Control Inhibitorio y Control de activación explicaron el 45% de la varianza del rendimiento escolar y las dimensiones Humor depresivo, Atención y Sensibilidad al Placer explicaron el 43 % de la varianza de problemas de adaptación al medio escolar. Estos resultados coinciden parcialmente con lo encontrado en estudios previos, pero aportan información específica sobre la influencia del temperamento en otras dimensiones del ajuste escolar, más allá del rendimiento. Conocer la influencia del temperamento en el ajuste escolar proporciona una guía eficaz para la intervención educativa de los menores.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech