Pre-adoption stress and its association with child behavior in domestic special needs and international adoptions

Abstract

This article presents data from studies of children adopted through the United States public child welfare system and children adopted internationally from Romania. The article summarizes the data on: a) behavior problems as they relate to Romanian adoptees from a cross-sectional study, b) behavior problems for a sample of children adopted through the United States public child welfare system from a cross-sectional study, and c) a comparison of children's behavior for these two groups. Results indicate that the most significant predictor of children's behavior is a negative pre-adoptive history of abuse or institutionalization and the current parent-child relationship. In addition, the domestic and international adoptees' behavior is more similar than it is different. The study highlights the importance of helping families understand how early negative experiences are associated with behavior difficulties. Results suggest that families may have similar need for social and medical services, regardless of the country of origin of adoption. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.