Social information-processing patterns as predictors of social adaptation and behavior problems among maltreated children in foster care.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this investigation was to determine if social information-processing patterns were predictive of later social adaptation and behavior problems within a group of maltreated children in foster care.
METHOD: A longitudinal design was used to address the study hypotheses. The sample consisted of 124 maltreated children ages 5 to 10 who had been placed into foster care. Twelve months following entrance into foster care, children were presented with age-relevant hypothetical vignettes to assess the quality of the way in which they process social information. Six to 8 months following this assessment, caregivers completed the Vineland Adaptive Scales and the Child Behavior Checklist.
RESULTS: Measures reflecting unbiased and competent processing were predictive of social adaptation, whereas measures reflecting biased and incompetent processing were predictive of behavior problems. In aggregate, processing measures accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the outcome measures.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the manner in which maltreated children process social information has a bearing on their later social adaptation and behavioral adjustment. Therefore, maltreated children in foster care may benefit from interventions that target the manner in which they process social information.