Episodic foresight, episodic memory, and executive functions in children engaged with Child Protective Services: The role of cumulative risk.

Previous studies have determined that exposure to risk and adversities may impair children's cognitive abilities. In particular, children engaged with Child Protective Services (CPS) seem to be at greater risk for enhanced detrimental effects resulting from the cumulative risk factors to which they are exposed. However, little is known about children's future thinking when they face adverse circumstances, and it is not clear how the associations among episodic foresight abilities, episodic memory, and executive functions work with children under such circumstances. The current study describes the episodic foresight abilities of CPS-involved school-aged children, its association with other cognitive abilities, and how this association is affected by the exposure to cumulative risk and adversity factors. Episodic foresight, episodic memory, executive functions, and a composite of cumulative risk factors were analyzed in a sample of 95 school-aged children engaged with CPS in Portugal. Results suggest the detrimental effect of cumulative risk on the episodic foresight abilities of CPS-involved children. Episodic memory and cognitive flexibility were significant predictors of episodic foresight abilities, and cumulative risk exposure moderated the relation between episodic memory and episodic foresight. The current study provides a better understanding of the influences of multiple adversities on CPS-involved children's episodic foresight abilities and related cognitive outcomes.

Narrative Abilities and Episodic Memory in School-Aged Children Followed by Child Protective Services.

The ability to narrate routine familiar events develops gradually during middle childhood, in increasingly higher levels of coherence and temporal cohesion. Improvements in episodic memory are also observed, reflecting children's increasing ability to recall specific circumstances of past events and personal experiences. Even though several studies have evaluated children's narrative abilities and episodic memory, little information is available regarding the children exposed to risks that justify their referral to Child Protective Services (CPS). The current study analysed children's narrative abilities and episodic memory performance, according to the circumstances related to the referral to CPS. Event schema representation, narrative coherence, narrative temporal cohesion, and episodic memory concerning routine and specific personal events in family context were analysed in a sample of 56 school-aged children followed by the CPS in Portugal. Children referred to CPS due to disruptive behaviour presented higher episodic memory performance, compared to those exposed to domestic violence, neglect, and abuse. No significant differences were found between groups regarding narrative abilities related to familiar routine events. Results highlight the relevance of evaluating the adverse circumstances that lead to CPS referral, considering the levels of risk and danger involved, given its differential effects on children's episodic memory development.

Cooperação, competição e individualismo: pesquisa e contemporaneidade / Cooperation, competition and individualism: a contemporary research issue

Cooperação, competição e individualismo consistem em tema de fundamental relevância na contemporaneidade. A contribuição da psicologia está em estudar os múltiplos e variados fatores que, de forma dinâmica, atuam no desenvolvimento de padrões interativos, crenças e valores específicos, que dão origem a ações e interações que irão, afinal, constituir o cotidiano das relações humanas em sociedade. Em nosso Laboratório na Universidade de Brasília, temos desenvolvido projetos envolvendo crianças, adolescentes e adultos, procurando analisar o desenvolvimento de padrões de interação social, crenças e valores em contextos culturalmente estruturados, bem como a questão da moralidade e motivação social. Os estudos têm feito uso de entrevistas e vídeo, o que nos permite a análise microgenética das interações sociais. O artigo analisa, pois, a questão da interdependência humana expressa sob a forma de padrões interativos e crenças e valores, ilustrando com um exemplo empírico a metodologia utilizada.(AU)

Cooperation, competition and individualism are fundamental topics to be studied in today's world. The contribution of psychology resides in the study of the multiple and varied factors, which dynamically act in the development of interactive patterns, beliefs and specific values which are the origin of actions and interactions. These actions and interactions will finally constitute the routine of human relationship in our society. In our Laboratory, at the University of Brasilia, we have been carrying out research projects with the objective of investigating social interaction patterns, values and beliefs in children, adolescents and adults. Moral development and social motivation also consist of topics of interest. Interviews and videotape are used, allowing for a micro genetic analysis of social interactions. The present article discusses human interdependence issues related to interactions, values and beliefs, and it also provides an empirical example of the methodology we are using to develop our research.(AU)