Specific extreme behaviors of postinstitutionalized Russian adoptees

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Brandi N Hawk1, Robert B McCall

  • 1University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development, 400 North Lexington Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208, USA. bnm6@pitt.edu

Developmental Psychology
|January 12, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Children adopted from Russian institutions after 18 months showed more behavioral problems, especially in adolescence. This suggests early institutionalization may cause lasting developmental issues impacting behavior.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Adoption Studies

Background:

  • Children adopted from institutional settings may face developmental challenges.
  • Early social-emotional deprivation can impact long-term behavior.
  • Understanding the effects of institutionalization on adopted children is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-term behavioral outcomes of children adopted from Russian institutions.
  • To examine the influence of age at adoption, age at assessment, and gender on behavior problems.
  • To identify specific behavioral patterns associated with early institutional experiences.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess behavior problems in 316 adopted children.
  • Analyzed data based on age at adoption (18-month cutoff), age at assessment (6-11 and 12-18 years), and gender.
  • Conducted factor analysis on behavior items related to age at adoption.

Main Results:

  • Children adopted after 18 months exhibited higher behavior problem scores, particularly when assessed in adolescence (12-18 years).
  • A significant percentage of later adoptees (59.0%) showed clinical/borderline scores on at least one CBCL subscale in adolescence.
  • Factor analysis revealed a broad factor of antisocial behaviors, social difficulties, and withdrawal linked to later adoption.
  • 48.7% of later adoptees assessed in adolescence had 2 or more subscale scores in the clinical/borderline range.

Conclusions:

  • Institutional experiences beyond 18 months may lead to a broad range of behavioral deficiencies.
  • Later adoption from deprived institutions is associated with increased risk for behavioral problems in adolescence.
  • Findings highlight the critical impact of early environment on child development and behavior.

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