Is early preventive intervention effective in enhancing parental sensitivity and infant attachment security, and if so, what type of intervention is most successful? Seventy studies were traced, producing 88 intervention effects on sensitivity (n = 7,636) and/or attachment (n = 1,503). Randomized interventions appeared rather effective in changing insensitive parenting (d = 0.33) and infant attachment insecurity (d = 0.20). The most effective interventions used a moderate number of sessions and a clear-cut behavioral focus in families with, as well as without, multiple problems. Interventions that were more effective in enhancing parental sensitivity were also more effective in enhancing attachment security, which supports the notion of a causal role of sensitivity in shaping attachment.

NTERNATIONAL ADOPTION IS AN IN-creasing phenomenon involving more than 40 000 children a year moving between more than 100 countries. 1,2 By setting uniform norms and standards, the 1993 Hague Convention 3 endorsed and facilitated international adoption. International adoption may offer the advantage of a permanent family to a child for whom a family cannot be found in the country of origin. In 2004, most international adoptions in the United States (22 884) were from China, Russia, Guatemala, South Korea, and Kazakhstan, 4 whereas most international adoptions in Europe (15 847 in 2003) were from China, Russia, Colombia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. 2 Since the 1970s, domestic adoptions in North America and Europe drastically decreased, whereas at the same time the number of international adoptions increased. 1 International adoptees often experience inadequate prenatal and perinatal medical care, maternal separation, psychological deprivation, insufficient health services, neglect, abuse, and malnutrition in orphanages or poor families before adoptive placement. [5][6][7] Animal models have shown that early maternal For editorial comment see p 2533.

This study examines the prevalence, stability, and development of physical aggression, as reported by mothers and fathers, in a sample of children initially recruited at 12, 24, and 36 months (N=2,253) and in a subsample followed up 1 year later (n=271) in a cross-sequential design. Physical aggression occurred in 12-month-olds, but significantly more often in 24- and 36-month-olds. The rates of physically aggressive behaviors increased in the 2nd year of life, and declined from the 3rd birthday onward. Stabilities were moderate for 12-month-olds and high for 24- and 36-month-olds. At the ages of 24 and 36 months, boys were more aggressive than girls. The results confirm and extend R.E. Tremblay's (2004) hypothesis about the early development of physical aggression.

It is concluded that adoption is an effective intervention leading to massive catch-up. Domestic and international adoptions can be justified on ethical grounds if no other solutions are available. Humans are adapted to adopt, and adoption demonstrates the plasticity of child development.

An inverse relation between cortisol (re)activity and externalizing behavior has been hypothesized, but research findings seem equivocal. We tested this hypo(re)activity hypothesis in two meta-analyses, one for basal cortisol (k ¼ 72 studies, N ¼ 5,480) and one for cortisol reactivity to a stressor (k ¼ 29 studies, N ¼ 2,601). No association was found between cortisol reactivity and externalizing behaviors (r ¼ À.04, 95% CI ¼ À.11, .02). However, the relation between basal cortisol and externalizing behavior was significant but small (r ¼ À.05, 95% CI ¼ À.10, À.002). The age of the children significantly moderated this relation: Externalizing behavior was associated with higher basal cortisol (hyperactivity) in preschoolers (r ¼.09, 95% CI ¼ .002, .17), and with lower basal cortisol (hypoactivity) in elementary school-aged children (r ¼ À.14, 95% CI ¼ À.19, À.08). There was no significant relation between cortisol and externalizing behavior in adolescents. ß