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Emotion understanding, parent mental state language, and behavior problems in internationally adopted children
Amanda R Tarullo1, Adriana Youssef2, Kristin A Frenn2
1Boston University.
Development and Psychopathology
|November 28, 2015
Summary
Internationally adopted children show lower emotion understanding, but postadoption parenting, specifically parent mental state language, can foster development. This improved emotion understanding is linked to fewer behavior problems in adopted children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Adoption Studies
Background:
- Internationally adopted postinstitutionalized (PI) children often face developmental challenges, including deficits in emotion understanding.
- Early institutional deprivation can negatively impact socio-emotional development, with potential long-term consequences.
- Understanding the role of postadoption factors is crucial for supporting these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of postadoption parenting on emotion understanding in internationally adopted children.
- To examine the association between emotion understanding and behavior problems in adopted children.
- To determine if parent mental state language mediates or moderates the relationship between adoption and emotion understanding.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study assessing emotion understanding and parent mental state language at age 3, with follow-up at 5.5 years.
- Comparison of internationally adopted postinstitutionalized (PI) children, internationally adopted from foster care, and nonadopted (NA) children.
- Statistical analyses controlling for child language ability and examining moderation by adoption status.
Main Results:
- PI children exhibited lower emotion understanding than NA children at 5.5 years, irrespective of language ability.
- Parent mental state language at age 3 significantly predicted emotion understanding at 5.5 years for internationally adopted children, but not for NA children.
- PI children displayed higher internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, which were associated with lower emotion understanding.
Conclusions:
- Postadoption parenting, particularly through "mental state talk," can positively influence emotion understanding development in internationally adopted children.
- While early deprivation effects persist, supportive parenting can mitigate some socio-emotional deficits.
- Lower emotion understanding in PI children is linked to increased behavioral problems, highlighting the importance of socio-emotional support.
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