Foster children who received the ABC intervention in infancy showed stronger cognitive flexibility at preschool age than foster children who received a control intervention¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2012 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 In a randomized clinical trial follow-up, foster children who received the ABC intervention scored significantly higher on the post-switch card sort than foster children who received the control intervention (d = 1.06). → Lewis-Morrarty 2012 q3 i? Foster children who received ABC did not differ significantly from never-fostered comparison children on post-switch cognitive flexibility scores. → Lewis-Morrarty 2012 (2)

Evidence¶

Lewis-Morrarty 2012¶

Lewis-Morrarty, E., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Terracciano, S., & Moore, S. (2012). Cognitive Flexibility and Theory of Mind Outcomes Among Foster Children: Preschool Follow-up Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.005

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Preschool follow-up (ages 4–6) of a randomized clinical trial in which foster children were randomly assigned before age 20 months to ABC (n = 17) or a control intervention (n = 20). An ANCOVA controlling for receptive language showed the ABC group "scored higher than children in the FCC group" on the post-switch task, with a large effect size (d = 1.06).

"Results showed that children in the ABC group (M = 5.00, SD = 2.03) scored higher than children in the FCC group (M = 2.40, SD = 2.87) on the post-switch task (Mcontrast = 1.31, p = .00, CI 95: 0.35, 2.27), and the effect size for this contrast was large (d = 1.06)."

Lewis-Morrarty 2012 (2)¶

Lewis-Morrarty, E., Dozier, M., Bernard, K., Terracciano, S., & Moore, S. (2012). Cognitive Flexibility and Theory of Mind Outcomes Among Foster Children: Preschool Follow-up Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.005

q3 · i? · causal · r2

In the same ANCOVA follow-up contrasts, the ABC group's post-switch scores were statistically indistinguishable from those of never-fostered comparison children (Mcontrast = −0.21, p = 1.00), suggesting ABC children's cognitive flexibility was normalized to comparison-group levels.

"Children in the ABC group did not differ significantly from children in the NFC group (M = 5.08, SD = 2.02) in terms of their post-switch scores (Mcontrast = −0.21, p = 1.00, CI 95: −1.14, 0.71)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Executive Function — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Foster children who received the ABC intervention showed stronger theory of mind at preschool age than foster children who received a control intervention — related
• Foster children who received a control intervention showed a specific post-switch (set-shifting) deficit on the card-sort task, with no group difference on the pre-switch trials — related
• Foster children who received the control intervention scored significantly lower on the post-switch task than never-fostered comparison children — related
• Metacognitive reflection training improves young children's DCCS performance, with behavioral and neural changes — related
• Group differences in receptive language did not hold when controlling for SES, and receptive language was the covariate retained in the main analyses — related
• Children's cognitive flexibility improved on average from preschool to first grade — related
• Prenatal risk indices were not significantly associated with cognitive flexibility or theory of mind outcomes in this sample — related
• Children typically perseverate on the Dimensional Change Card Sort at age 3 but can switch sorting rules from age 4 — related