Citation

Salomão S, Canário C, Cruz O. Children (Basel) 2021; 8(10): e849.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/children8100849

PMID

34682114

PMCID

PMC8534474

Abstract

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.

Language: en

Keywords

child protective services; disruptive behaviours; episodic memory; event schema; exposure to domestic violence; narrative abilities; narrative coherence; narrative temporal cohesion; neglect and abuse; school-aged children