Parents' evaluation of adoption success: a follow-up study of intercountry and domestic adoptions.
Parents of 165 children adopted from Romania and 52 children adopted from within the United Kingdom rated the success of the adoptions when the children were 11 years old. As was the case at two earlier study waves, satisfaction was found to be extremely high. Both positive and negative assessments were generally stable between ages 6 and 11, although for the children who had more problems there was an increase in negative evaluation, albeit within an overall positive picture. Parents' evaluations were somewhat more negative for this group of children; however, parents reported that having the child as part of their family was very rewarding. Negative evaluation was not directly related to age at placement, but appeared to be a reflection of the later-placed children's higher rates of problem behavior. As found at earlier assessment waves, child factors, in particular conduct problems and inattention or overactivity, were key in predicting parental evaluations at age 11, as were four domains closely associated with institutional deprivation, namely cognitive impairment, quasi-autistic patterns, inattention or overactivity, and disinhibited attachment. The findings emphasize the need for early intervention for children in severely deprived conditions, and for access to postadoption services that target the particular problem behaviors the children may exhibit.
Castle
Jenny
J
MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK. j.castle@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Groothues
Christine
C
Beckett
Celia
C
Colvert
Emma
E
Hawkins
Amanda
A
Kreppner
Jana
J
Kumsta
Robert
R
Schlotz
Wolff
W
Sonuga-Barke
Edmund
E
Stevens
Suzanne
S
Rutter
Michael
M
D000124:Achievement; D000300:Adoption / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012383:Romania / Q000208:ethnology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000208:ethnology