Journal ArticleDOI
Behavior problems and mental health referrals of international adoptees: a meta-analysis.
TLDR
Most international adoptees are well-adjusted although they are referred to mental health services more often than nonadopted controls, however, international adopts present fewer behavior problems and are less often referred tomental health services than domestic adoptee.Abstract:
ContextInternational adoption involves more than 40 000 children a year
moving among more than 100 countries. Before adoption, international adoptees
often experience insufficient medical care, malnutrition, maternal separation,
and neglect and abuse in orphanages.ObjectiveTo estimate the effects of international adoption on behavioral problems
and mental health referrals.Data SourcesWe searched MEDLINE, PsychLit, and ERIC from 1950 to January 2005 using
the terms adopt* combined with (behavior) problem, disorder, (mal)adjustment, (behavioral)
development, clinical or psychiatric (referral), or mental health;
conducted a manual search of the references of articles, books, book chapters,
and reports; and consulted experts for relevant studies. The search was not
limited to English-language publications.Study SelectionStudies that provided sufficient data to compute differences between
adoptees (in all age ranges) and nonadopted controls were selected, resulting
in 34 articles on mental health referrals and 64 articles on behavior problems.Data ExtractionData on international adoption, preadoption adversity, and other moderators
were extracted from each study and inserted in the program Comprehensive Meta-analysis
(CMA). Effect sizes (d) for the overall differences
between adoptees and controls regarding internalizing, externalizing, total
behavior problems, and use of mental health services were computed. Homogeneity
across studies was tested with the Q statistic.Data SynthesisAmong 25 281 cases and 80 260 controls, adoptees (both within
and between countries) presented more behavior problems, but effect sizes
were small (d, 0.16-0.24). Adoptees (5092 cases)
were overrepresented in mental health services and this effect size was large
(d, 0.72). Among 15 790 cases and 30 450
controls, international adoptees showed more behavior problems than nonadopted
controls, but effect sizes were small (d, 0.07-0.11).
International adoptees showed fewer total, externalizing and internalizing
behavior problems than domestic adoptees. Also, international adoptees were
less often referred to mental health services (d,
0.37) than domestic adoptees (d, 0.81). International
adoptees with preadoption adversity showed more total problems and externalizing
problems than international adoptees without evidence of extreme deprivation.ConclusionsMost international adoptees are well-adjusted although they are referred
to mental health services more often than nonadopted controls. However, international
adoptees present fewer behavior problems and are less often referred to mental
health services than domestic adoptees.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
A Global Perspective on Child Sexual Abuse: Meta-Analysis of Prevalence Around the World:
Marije Stoltenborgh,Marinus H. van IJzendoorn,Eveline M. Euser,Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg +3 more
TL;DR: The results of the meta-analysis confirm that CSA is a global problem of considerable extent, but also show that methodological issues drastically influence the self-reported prevalence of CSA.
Journal ArticleDOI
Prolonged institutional rearing is associated with atypically large amygdala volume and difficulties in emotion regulation.
Nim Tottenham,Todd A. Hare,Brian T. Quinn,Thomas McCarry,Marcella Nurse,Tara Gilhooly,Alexander J. Millner,Adriana Galván,Matthew C. Davidson,Inge-Marie Eigsti,Kathleen M. Thomas,Peter J. Freed,Elizabeth S. Booma,Megan R. Gunnar,Margaret Altemus,Jane Aronson,B. J. Casey +16 more
TL;DR: The findings are consistent with previous reports describing negative effects of prolonged orphanage care on emotional behavior and with animal models that show long-term changes in the amygdala and emotional behavior following early postnatal stress.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 2006: Adoption as intervention. Meta-analytic evidence for massive catch-up and plasticity in physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development
TL;DR: Although catch-up with current peers was incomplete in some developmental domains, adopted children largely outperformed their peers left behind and can be justified on ethical grounds if no other solutions are available.
Journal ArticleDOI
Elevated amygdala response to faces following early deprivation
TL;DR: Data support the hypothesis that early adversity alters human brain development in a way that can persist into childhood, and they offer insight into the socio-emotional disturbances in human behavior following early adversity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conducted two series of meta-analyses, one using only observational assessments of attachment and one using both observational and self-report assessments, and found that children who were adopted before 12 months of age were as securely attached as their non-adopted peers.
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