title: Family environment and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adopted children: associations with family cohesion and adaptability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Positive family environments are crucial in promoting children's emotional and behavioural well-being, and may also buffer development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is highly heritable, but psychosocial factors in the family environment, particularly family cohesion and communication, may mediate genetic predispositions. The purpose of the current study is to examine the mediating influence of the adoptive family environment between pre-adoptive risk factors and youths' ADHD symptomatology at 14 years post adoption.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data used in this study were obtained from the fourth wave of the California Long-Range Adoption Study (CLAS) (n = 449). Using structural equation modelling (SEM), family sense of coherence and family adaptability were tested as possible mediators between environmental and biological predictors and ADHD symptomatology. Predictors included birthweight, gender, age at adoption, adoption from foster care, transracial adoption status, ethnicity and having a previous diagnosis of ADHD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show that, while adoption from foster care is negatively associated with family functioning, higher family cohesion and adaptability mediate this influence on children's ADHD symptomatology. Older age of adoption directly predicts greater ADHD symptoms with no mediating influence of the family environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mediating influence of the family environment between children's risk factors and ADHD symptoms suggests that family intervention strategies may be helpful in improving adopted children's outcomes. Once children are adopted, targeting family communication patterns and dynamics may be an additional part of developing an evidence-based, post-adoption services toolkit.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Crea
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Barth
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: ADHD; SEM; adoption; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; family environment