The impact of previous type of abuse and sibling adoption upon adoptive families

OBJECTIVE: The paper addresses the impacts of the type of abuse and sibling adoption upon family functioning. The specific objectives are to test the relationships: (1). between an adopted child's previous type of abuse and postadoptive family functioning; (2). between an adopted child's previous type of abuse and the child's postadoptive externalized behavior status; (3). between sibling adoption status and postadoptive family functioning; and (4). between sibling adoption status and the child's postadoptive externalized behavior status. METHOD: Data were collected from parents with adopted children, between the ages of 2 and 16, who have special needs status. The convenience sample was drawn primarily from one southern state. RESULTS: The results suggest that the child's type of abuse does predict different outcomes in terms of a parent's report of postadoptive family functioning but not the adopted child's postadoptive externalized behavior. Sibling adoptions resulted in lower perceptions of family functioning but slightly improved perceptions of the child's postadoptive externalized behavior. CONCLUSION: Parents with adopted children who have histories of physical and sexual abuse reported lower family functioning than those parents with adopted children who only have histories of neglect. Parents who adopted sibling groups reported fewer externalized child behavior problems but lower family functioning than those parents who adopted a single child. These results suggest the need for a variety of family supports targeted to family needs as well as to promoting behavioral changes in the children.     

Predicting re-involvement for children adopted out of a public child welfare system

Some of the approximately 400,000 children currently placed out-of-home in a public child welfare system will not reunify with their family of origin. They may instead be adopted into a new family. Adoption placements can be characterized by poor adjustment for children; some such placements even result in disruption or dissolution. We conducted a stratified Cox regression of 4,016 children from the Colorado public child welfare system. All of the children had a finalized adoption during the years 2002 through 2006. The two outcomes analyzed were new child protection and youth-in-conflict referrals and assessments for these previously adopted children. New child welfare referrals and assessments may be early indicators of poor adjustment for adopted children within the adoptive family. Study results indicate that older children and Hispanic children had higher rates of referral and assessment. Children with a pre-adoption history including longer time out-of-home or a larger number of out-of-home placements also experienced higher referral and assessment rates. Additional factors which predicted subsequent system re-involvement included presence of paid adoption assistance, adoption by a non-relative foster parent and younger adoptive parent age. Several study results were moderated by the presence or absence of an ethnic match between the child and the adoptive parents. We provide an overview of the statistical model used for analysis and we discuss implications of the study results for child welfare practice.     

Openness in Adoption and the Level of Child Participation

There is great controversy regarding the impact of openness in adoption, especially the impact of such an arrangement on adopted children. Three indicators of the level of child participation in the openness arrangement were examined: ( a ) level of openness reported by adoptive parents, ( b ) level of information adopted children reported having about their birthparents, and ( c ) whether adoptive parents have withheld any pertinent information gained through communication with the birthmother from the adopted child. 171 children (90 males, 81 females; mean age = 7.99) were studied to assess how that participation influenced their conceptual understanding of what adoption means, general self-worth, satisfaction with level of openness, and curiosity about birthparents. Overall it does not appear that providing information about a child's birthparents will confuse the child about the meaning of adoption or lower the child's self-esteem, but neither will it move them to levels of understanding that are beyond their cognitive capabilities to reach.     

Abuse and deprivation in failing adoptions

Twelve children seen in psychiatric consultation by the authors over a 3-year period were failing in their adoptive placements. All twelve had been adopted as older children (average age at adoption 5 . Ten out of the12 were males. A retrospective case review demonstrated that all the children shared several common characteristics: (1)a history of both neglect and abusive treatment during at least the first two years of life, (2) a behavioral pattern that wasintermittently provocative and punishment seeking, and (3) an ability to elicit a sense of bewilderment and betrayal in theadoptive parents. Twenty-one months was the average duration of the adoption before the families sought the consultation. These adoptive families were all considered competent by the agencies involved. All had raised other natural and adoptive children successfully. Treatment offered by the authors seemed to be helpful in salvaging 4 of the 12 adoptive placements. The authors present these cases as a way of drawing attention to much needed research, both in better understanding the early attachment process in “older child” adoptions, and in better understanding the relative impact of abuse in influencing the child's subsequent attachment capacities.     

The adoption of children from out-of-home care: The understandings of key decision makers in Victoria,Australia

Adoption is one of a range of options that can provide children in out-of-home care with permanency when they are unable to be reunified with their birth parents. This paper reports on how the adoption of children from out-of-home care is understood by professionals involved in making decisions about the permanent placement of children in out-of-home care in Victoria, Australia, where adoption is rarely used. Data were collected through a single, face-to-face semi-structured interview with 21 professionals; eight child welfare specialists, eight adoption and permanent care specialists and five judicial officers. The adoption of children from out-of-home care was primarily understood as a child-centered practice that can afford children stability and a sense of belonging. Adoption was largely viewed as a voluntary process dependent upon the consent of a child’s birth parents. Adoption and permanent care specialists were the only group to refer to the dispensation of parental consent as a means of obtaining an adoption order. Most decision makers understood that contact between children and their birth parents is possible following adoption, but this was not understood by all judicial officers or all child welfare specialists. Children’s connection to their cultural heritage was viewed as important to the consideration of adoption for children in out-of-home care. This research provides insight into the foundations upon which decision makers may appraise adoption, within a hierarchy of options, as a potential outcome for children in need of permanency.     

具有难民身份的儿童的收养问题探析

随着收养的逐渐增多,国际社会开始给予其越来越多的重视.收养既可使丧失父母或父母无力抚养的孤儿享有与其他儿童一样的权利,也可以满足一些不愿自己生育或无法生育的夫妻的要求,是解决社会冲突的重要途径,更是一个关系各国安定团结,社会稳定的重要问题,因而努力解决具有难民身份的儿童的收养问题其意义显而易见.     

Adoptive Parenting Cognitions: Acknowledgement of Differences as a Predictor of Adolescents’ Attachment to Parents

SYNOPSIS

Objective. Adoptive parents’ acknowledgment of differences is defined as the propensity to think that adoptive and nonadoptive families are different in important ways. Few studies have examined the implications of such cognitions for the parent–child bond. Design. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine the relation between adoptive parents’ acknowledgment of differences and adolescents’ later attachment to their parents in a sample of within-race domestic infant adoptions. Data from 189 adoptive families were drawn from two waves (middle childhood, adolescence) of the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project, a longitudinal study of openness in adoption. Results. Levels of acknowledgment of differences displayed by the adoptive mother and adoptive father during middle childhood positively predicted adopted adolescents’ feelings of attachment toward the respective parent 8 years later. This relation depended on adopted adolescents’ attitude toward adoption-related communication during middle childhood as well as the adoptive family’s level of openness during middle childhood. Conclusions. Acknowledgment of differences in adoptive families has positive implications for the parent–child bond.     

Improving child welfare through a children's ombudsman.

OBJECTIVE: This report examines the changes in a child welfare system created by establishing an ombudsman's office to investigate complaints regarding children in the foster care, adoption, and child protection systems. METHOD: Serving as a complaint office, the Michigan Office of Children's Ombudsman investigated 443 cases involving 820 children during its first 18 months of operation. Information was collected regarding the nature of abuse and system concerns identified in child protective services, foster care, or adoption agencies from across our state. Information was also collected regarding changes in agency practices or procedures or legislation resulting from case investigation. RESULTS: The Children's Ombudsman in Michigan identified 209 cases in which "administrative acts" of child protective services, foster care, or adoption agencies led to real or potential harm to children. Through investigation of these complaints, a number of areas of concern in the child welfare system were identified, resulting in changes in case management, investigation, or service provision. CONCLUSIONS: A children's ombudsman can improve the child welfare system through complaint investigation and identification of system-wide deficiencies on a state-wide level.     

Transactions Between Child Social Wariness and Observed Structured Parenting: Evidence From a Prospective Adoption Study

This investigation examined the mutual influences between structured parenting and child social wariness during toddlerhood using a longitudinal adoption design. The sample consisted of 361 adoption‐linked families, each including an adopted child, adoptive parents, and a birth mother. Heightened social wariness in children at age 18 months predicted reduced levels of observed structured parenting (i.e., less directive parenting with fewer commands and requests) in adoptive mothers at age 27 months. Adoptive fathers' lower structured parenting at age 18 months predicted subsequent elevation in child social wariness. Birth mothers' history of fear‐related anxiety disorders was not associated with child social wariness. Findings highlight the role of dynamic family transactions in the development of social wariness during toddlerhood.     

Understanding and supporting adoptive families

The number of adopted children in early childhood classrooms continues to rise each year; teachers need knowledge of adoption issues in order to face the unique challenges and meet the special needs of these children and their adoptive parents. This article provides “adoption awareness” for early childhood educators and offers practical suggestions for working with adoptive parents and their children. A list of adoption resources and consultants is included, along with a collection of suggested adoption books for young children.     

Mother–Child Interaction: Links Between Mother and Child Frontal Electroencephalograph Asymmetry and Negative Behavior

It is well accepted that parent–child interactions are bidirectional by nature, yet not much is known about the psychophysiological activity underlying these interactions. This study examined, during a parent–child interaction, how a child's negativity statistically predicted maternal frontal electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry and how a mother's negativity statistically predicted child frontal EEG asymmetry. Thirty‐four mother–child dyads participated in the study. Maternal and child behaviors and physiology were measured during a puzzle task. Results indicated that mothers whose children exhibited more challenging behaviors during the dyadic interaction displayed more right (relative to left) asymmetry, as did children whose mothers were high in negativity during the interaction. These findings suggest that mothers and children react to each other's signals not only behaviorally but also physiologically.     

Child Effects on Parental Negativity: The Role of Heritable and Prenatal Factors

This study examined two possible mechanisms, evocative gene–environment correlation and prenatal factors, in accounting for child effects on parental negativity. Participants included 561 children adopted at birth, and their adoptive parents and birth parents within a prospective longitudinal adoption study. Findings indicated child effects on parental negativity, such that toddlers’ negative reactivity at 18 months was positively associated with adoptive parents’ over-reactive and hostile parenting at 27 months. Furthermore, we found that child effects on parental negativity were partially due to heritable (e.g., birth mother [BM] internalizing problems and substance use) and prenatal factors (e.g., BM illicit drug use during pregnancy) that influence children’s negative reactivity at 18 months. This study provides critical evidence for “child on parent” effects.     

Children hospitalized with child abuse and neglect: a case-control study

A case-control study of 45 hospitalized abused children was conducted to reassess the risk factors for child abuse when confounding by social class was minimized. Cases were matched for age, sex, family structure, and social class with children admitted to hospital for an acute illness. Abused children were more likely to have younger parents, fewer siblings, and to have been separated from their mothers during the first year of life. Their parents were more likely to have been abused as children and to have a poor relationship with the child's other parent. The families of abused children had encountered more stressful life events in the preceding 12 months. Other previously recognized "risk factors" were not shown to have a statistically significant association with child abuse. Because child abuse is more prevalent in lower socioeconomic families, the association with many of these factors has been accepted as implying a causal relationship. Matching procedures which attempted to eliminate confounding by social class and family structure cast doubts on some previously held beliefs about the risk factors for child abuse.     

Adoptive Gay Father Families: A Longitudinal Study of Children’s Adjustment at Early Adolescence

Findings are presented from the second phase of a UK longitudinal study of 33 gay father, 35 lesbian mother, and 43 heterosexual parent families when their adopted children reached early adolescence. Participants predominantly lived in urban/suburban areas and were mostly white and well-educated. Standardized interviews, observations, and questionnaires of parental mental health, parent–child relationships, and adolescent adjustment were administered to parents, children, and teachers between 2016 and 2018. There were few differences between family types. However, adjustment problems had increased in all family types, with better parenting quality and parental mental health associated with fewer adjustment problems. The findings contribute to adoption policy and practice, and to theoretical understanding of the role of parental gender in child development.     

Children leaving foster care: Outcomes of permanency planning

Foster care, created to overcome some of the disadvantages and abuses of institutional care of children, can present its own problems. One problem is overt abuse, but there are other, more subtle, deficiencies and concerns about foster care. In response, the concept of permanency planning has been introduced as a philosophy, a policy, and a technique. It is designed to return every child who enters care to the stability of a family as quickly as possible. This paper presents findings of a longitudinal study of the outcomes of permanency planning. Results show that over half the children returned to their biological parents, that adoptions were more common for Caucasian than black children, that 78% of the children were still in their permanent placements 12-16 months later, that most children were functioning well, and that there was a marked need for services for the families. In addition to the results of the study, the discussion focuses on implications for foster care practice and child welfare policy, including the importance of relatives, the impact of foster care placements, the needs of biological families, and the provision of services and supports for reunified families.     

‘We are like dictionaries,Miss, you can look things up in us’: evaluating child-centred research methods

Research concerning children is often presented with only a brief comment on the research methods adopted. This paper takes a ‘behind the scenes’ view and I discuss my adoption of a non-hierarchical ‘least adult role’ adapted from Mandell's work in 1991 to undertake qualitative research in the sensitive area of children's multicultural awareness in two high-proportion minority ethnic schools and two schools with a predominantly white intake. I discuss my approach as a ‘traveller’ rather than a ‘miner’ and the use of jelly beans and Bean Sheet to gauge the children's perceptions of their multicultural awareness. The value placed on the role of the child in the research design and implementation is examined, and I evaluate the advantages and limitations of adopting such child-centred approaches for the teacher researcher.     

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantly in their 30s, White, and coming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Most adoptive parents were heterosexual couples, and were married at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of childrenʼs heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.     

The Relationships Between Selected Organizational Variables and ATM Technology Adoption in Campus Networking

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is an emerging technology in computer networking, which, in turn, is the physical media of information systems and networking/telecommunication systems. The technology provides potentiality for universities to build their networks based on the future vision of uniting voice, data, and video communications on ATM-technology-based equipment. A review of the literature revealed that minimal evidence exists to indicate whether the size, type, financial factors, and information processing maturity of a university affect a university's high-tech innovation adoptions. No research of this nature has been undertaken in the study of ATM adoption in any institutions of higher learning, nor has any research of this nature been found in other organizations, either. Such evidence is needed by university administrators, information systems managers, and LAN managers to understand their universities better, whether they have or have not adopted ATM, and to evaluate their current administrative, academic, and financial situations and current campus networking situations. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between ATM adoption and four organizational variables: university size, type, finances, and information processing maturity. Another purpose of the study was to identify the current status of ATM adoption in campus networking in the United States. Logistic regression was used as the statistical data analysis method. The results of the study provided evidence to show that ATM adoption in campus networking is significantly related to university size, university type, university finances, and university information processing maturity.