Gagnon-Oosterwaal et al. (2012) Pre-Adoption Adversity & Behaviour Problems (Edexcel A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes
Gagnon-Oosterwaal et al. (2012) Pre-Adoption Adversity & Behaviour Problems
Background
Internationally adopted children typically show more behavioural problems than non-adopted children and are over-represented in mental health service statistics. These issues can be related to:
- The adoptees' pre-adoption environment
- The functioning and characteristics of adoptive families
- The interaction between these factors affecting behavioural development
This study examined whether pre-adoption adversity and parenting stress contribute to behavioural problems in internationally adopted children at school age.
Understanding the factors that contribute to behavioural problems in internationally adopted children is crucial for developing effective support interventions for both children and their adoptive families.
Participants
The study involved 95 children (69 girls) adopted during infancy:
- Countries of origin: 47 from China, 28 from other East-Asian countries (Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia), 17 from Russia, 2 from Haiti, 1 from Bolivia
- Pre-adoption care: 92% from orphanages, remainder from foster care
- Age at adoption: 4 to 18 months
- Age at assessment: 7 years old
- Control group: 15 non-adopted children recruited from nearby primary schools
Aim
To examine the effect of pre-adoption environment and parenting stress on children's behavioural problems in internationally adopted children.
Procedure
Study design: Longitudinal study with two assessment points:
- Initial assessment: Soon after arrival in adoptive country (baseline health and developmental status)
- Follow-up assessment: Age 7 years
Measures used:
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Dominic Interactive - A computerised pictorial questionnaire completed by the children themselves to assess behavioural problems (self-report measure)
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Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) - A standardised questionnaire completed by mothers to assess children's behavioural problems
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Parenting Stress Index (PSI) - A self-report questionnaire completed by mothers to assess stress levels related to their parenting role
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Pre-adoption adversity indicators:
- Neurological signs
- Head circumference
- Weight/height ratio (measured at time of adoption)
The study's design incorporated multiple perspectives by collecting data from both children (self-report) and mothers (observational reports), which helps provide a more comprehensive picture of behavioural issues.
Analysis: The adopted children's scores were compared to the control group of non-adopted children. Correlational analysis examined relationships between pre-adoption adversity, maternal stress, and behavioural problems.
Findings
Demographic variables:
- No differences in behavioural problems according to child's gender or country of origin
- No correlations between behavioural problems and socio-demographic variables (age at arrival, mother's education level, family income)
Pre-adoption adversity and behavioural problems:
- Three pre-adoption risk factors correlated with behavioural problems at age 7:
- Neurological signs
- Small head circumference
- Low weight/height ratio
- These correlations were found in both children's and mothers' reports of behavioural problems
Key Finding: Consistency Across Reports
The fact that correlations were found in both children's self-reports and mothers' observational reports strengthens the validity of these findings, suggesting these pre-adoption risk factors have genuine predictive value for later behavioural outcomes.
Maternal stress as mediator:
- Maternal stress (measured by PSI) correlated with behavioural problems
- Further correlational analysis revealed that maternal stress had a mediating effect on the relationship between pre-adoption adversity indicators and behavioural problems
- This means maternal stress acts as an intermediate factor linking pre-adoption adversity to later behavioural difficulties
Understanding Mediation
A mediating effect means that pre-adoption adversity doesn't directly cause behavioural problems on its own. Instead, pre-adoption adversity influences maternal stress levels, which in turn affects the development of behavioural problems. This suggests that interventions targeting parental stress could potentially break this chain of effects.
Conclusion
The study identified several important relationships:
Pre-adoption risk factors: Neurological signs, low weight/height ratio, and small head circumference at time of adoption can be considered potential risk factors for the development of behavioural problems in internationally adopted children.
Parenting factors: The child's condition on arrival in the adoptive country was related to higher levels of:
- Parenting stress
- Overprotectiveness
- High parental control
These parenting characteristics correlated with children's behavioural problems at school age.
The relationship between the child's initial condition and parenting style suggests that parents may naturally respond to more vulnerable children with increased protective and controlling behaviours, which may inadvertently contribute to behavioural difficulties.
Mediating role of maternal stress: Maternal stress was identified as an important mediator of the relationship between pre-adoption adversity and children's later behavioural problems. This finding is consistent with previous research by Levy-Shiff et al. (1997), which showed that parents of internationally adopted children tend to be more overprotective, intrusive, and controlling. Such parenting styles have been associated with the development of behavioural problems, particularly anxiety-related difficulties.
The researchers concluded that alleviating maternal stress could have a positive impact on the psychological health of internationally adopted children.
Evaluation: Strengths
Longitudinal design: The study assessed children at two time points (arrival and age 7), allowing researchers to track developmental and physical issues from adoption and examine how these related to later behavioural outcomes. This design enabled prospective follow-up of the children throughout the study period.
Longitudinal designs are particularly valuable in developmental research because they allow researchers to observe how early conditions predict later outcomes, establishing temporal relationships that cross-sectional studies cannot provide.
Multiple reporters: The study used both children's self-reports (Dominic Interactive) and mothers' reports (CBCL), which helped address potential bias issues. The researchers attempted to overcome weaknesses of relying solely on parental reports by including the children's own perspectives on their behaviour.
Correlational analysis showed consistency: No difference was found between children's and mothers' reports of behavioural issues, suggesting some validity in the findings.
Evaluation: Weaknesses
Difficulty separating pre- and post-adoption effects: Although children were adopted at a young age, it remains difficult to separate whether pre-adoption conditions or post-adoption environment factors have the stronger and more lasting impact on internationally adopted children. The relative contributions of each period cannot be fully disentangled.
Critical Limitation: Causal Ambiguity
This is a fundamental challenge in adoption research. While the study can identify correlations between pre-adoption adversity and later problems, it cannot definitively prove that pre-adoption factors cause behavioural problems, as post-adoption experiences may play an equally important or even more significant role.
Post-adoption environment factors: Factors related to the post-adoption environment, such as the quality of the parent-child relationship, may also explain the development of behavioural problems in international adoptees. The study focused primarily on pre-adoption adversity and parenting stress rather than relationship quality.
Self-report bias: Despite using children's self-reports, it is possible that mothers were biased when evaluating their own stress levels and their child's behaviour. As parenting stress levels increase, parents may perceive their children's behaviour less accurately, often becoming more negative in their assessments.
This potential bias is particularly relevant given that the same parents reporting high stress levels were also reporting their children's behavioural problems, which could inflate the apparent relationship between these variables.
Influence on children's perceptions: The children's perceptions of their own behaviour may have been influenced by their mother's beliefs, although correlational analysis showed no difference between children's and mothers' reports of behavioural issues.
Small opportunistic control group: The control group was not large and was selected by opportunity rather than through systematic sampling. This limited the ability to detect differences between the adopted and comparison groups. A larger, more representative control group would have strengthened the study's findings.
Key Points to Remember:
- Pre-adoption adversity (neurological signs, small head circumference, low weight/height ratio) correlates with later behavioural problems in internationally adopted children
- Maternal stress acts as a mediator between pre-adoption adversity and behavioural problems at age 7
- Overprotective and highly controlling parenting styles are associated with behavioural problems in adopted children
- The longitudinal design allowed tracking of children from adoption through to school age
- Limitations include difficulty separating pre- and post-adoption effects, potential self-report bias, and a small control group
- The finding that alleviating maternal stress could improve outcomes suggests practical intervention targets for supporting adoptive families