Risk and Protective Factors Contributing to the Longitudinal Psychosocial Well-Being of Adopted Foster Children

Abstract

T his study is based on a statewide longitudinal sample of adopted foster youth and explores the relationship between early pre-adoption risk factors and subsequent elevated levels of psychopathology symptomatology. One central goal of the study was to evaluate the impact of preadoption stressors (prenatal drug/nicotine exposure, early maltreatment, chaotic foster care history) on the 293 adopted foster children's short-and long-term psychosocial functioning at ages 2, 4, and 8 years post-adoption.An additional objective pertained to measuring how post-adoption attributes (adoptive parents' appraisals of their readiness for this type of adoptive placement and of their parenting style using the HOME scale) contributed a partial mediating influence to the children's functioning. The effects of risk and protective factors were examined through linear regression analyses.The strongest risk factors for the display of behavior problems were sexual abuse, neglect, and having been placed in multiple foster homes. Crucially, lack of parental readiness contributed a substantial increment to the overall models. In addition, longitudinally, the behavior problems remained stable across time.The implications of these findings for the development of services and interventions targeted for adoptive families are discussed.The number of children adopted from the child welfare system (public adoptions) has increased in recent years, attributable in large part to the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA). Of the various adoption types in the United States today, children of public adoptions are one of the most vulnerable population groups. Inherent to this population is a set of risk factors-severe child maltreatment and abandonment, prenatal substance exposure, multiple transitions from home to home, late age at adoption-that can negatively affect adoptive placements unless families are aware of and adequately prepared for the potential challenges that may unfold. Presently, research is lacking about the chronic influence of these preadoption risk factors on adopted foster children's long-term development, which, in turn, can hinder the creation of effective sustained intervention techniques. This present study, involving the California Long-Range Adoption Study (CLAS), aimed to fill these gaps. By evaluating the comparative influence of distinct clusters of pre-adoptive hazards on the adopted foster youths' psychosocial adjustment, this study was able to examine the short-and long-term effects that these risk factors have on adopted foster children.This is a companion study to a parallel project involving the CLAS data that looked longitudinally at the prevalence of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology in adopted foster youth. In that study, it was found that adopted foster youth exhibited elevated rates of symptomatology, across three different time points (2, 4, and 8 years post-adoption), that far exceed what is expected of age-similar youth in the general population (Simmel, Barth, & Brooks, 20...

An Evaluation of Gay/Lesbian and Heterosexual Adoption

“…Commentary reviews (Freeark et al, 2005) and empirical research (Brodzinsky, Smith, & Brodzinsky, 1998;Gibbs, Barth, & Houts, 2005) suggest that adoptive parents are seemingly more concerned about receiving supportive services for their adopted sons as opposed to daughters. This may be partially a result of adopted boys' inclination for externalizing disorders (Simmel, 2007;Simmel, Barth, & Brooks, 2007). In contrast to internalizing behavior, adoption outcome research suggests that externalizing behavior, such as breaking rules, running away, fighting, and threatening behavior, is most disconcerting to adoptive parents and is associated with placement instability and adoption disruptions (Brodzinsky et al, 1998).…”

“…The consistency across the analyses suggests that early in the adoption life cycle, the degree to which adoption workers exemplify concern for the child and family, demonstrate knowledge of adoption-related issues, and respond to adoptive parent problems and questions appears to be of importance to adoptive parents (Simmel, 2007;Smith & Howard, 1999). This suggests that perceived satisfaction with adoption services at adoption may be salient in indirectly helping the child and family adjust to adoption.…”

“…First, as this study utilized a nonrandom sample and cross-sectional design, the findings cannot be generalized to the broader population of adoptive parents and children nor can causal inferences be made. Longitudinal studies in adopted children are needed to examine the developmental trajectories and causal pathways of adjustment (Simmel, 2007). Second, secondary confirmation of variables was absent.…”

“…These include sex (1 = female, 0 = male) (Brooks, Simmel, Wind, & Barth, 2005), child age (Sharma, McGue, & Benson, 1996), pre-adoptive history of maltreatment (1 = yes, 0 = no) (Nalavany & Ryan, 2008;Simmel, 2007), co-sibling adoption (1 = yes, 0 = no) , adoption preparation (Nalavany, 2006;Simmel, 2007), family income (Ryan, Glover, & Cash, 2006), and family functioning .…”

Early Childhood Adversities and Trajectories of Psychiatric Problems in Adoptees: Evidence for Long Lasting Effects

“…For example, most adopted children from Asia were only a few months old at adoption and many children from Eastern Europe had been living in overcrowded orphanages for years (Fensbo 2004). Furthermore, in domestic US adoptions, a relationship between early adversities and behavior problems later in life was found (Simmel 2007;Simmel et al 2007).…”