Displaying 1 - 10 of 28
Introduction:
Although the majority of adoptive families remain stable, some of them break up prematurely.
Research objectives:
The goal of this study was to understand the participants` experiences throughout the adoption and disruption process and the challenges they encountered in their journey with the child or siblings entrusted for adoption.
Specifically, our objectives sought to:
(1) explore the motivations to adopt a child from the HtAC list; (2) analyze how they appreciated their preparedness for the process; (3) identify the challenges the…
Abstract
A considerable body of research has analyzed the development of children internationally adopted from Romania. However, domestic adoption remains largely uninvestigated. Our study examined the behavioral adjustment of 52 Romanian adolescents domestically adopted. Adoptive mothers and their children completed Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) – School Age forms. While overall our sample did not differ from the normative population, the rate of subjects obtaining clinical scores was higher. Behavioral problems did not appear to be linked to the considered pre-…
Abstract
Early childhood deprivation is associated with higher rates of neurodevelopmental and mental disorders in adulthood. The impact of childhood deprivation on the adult brain and the extent to which structural changes underpin these effects are currently unknown. To investigate these questions, we utilized MRI data collected from young adults who were exposed to severe deprivation in early childhood in the Romanian orphanages of the Ceaușescu era and then, subsequently adopted by UK families; 67 Romanian adoptees (with between 3 and 41 mo of deprivation) were compared with 21…
Abstract
This article explores how the type of placement in children's social care influences identity formation and contact with the birth family. It draws on 40 life history interviews with Romanian-born, care experienced young people who entered adulthood from different types of placement: 16 from residential care, eight from foster care, seven from domestic adoption and nine from intercountry adoption. The article contributes to an understanding of how residential care, foster care, domestic adoption and intercountry adoption affect identity formation and contact with the birth family…
This presentation was given at Disability Rights International and the European Network on Independent Living's webinar on the right of all children to a family by Dr. Joan Kaufman, Director of Research of the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The presentation outlines the Consensus Statement Position on Group Care for Children and Adolescents of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and reviews the research on the…
Abstract
The study examines from a comparative point of view some theoretical issues of the substantive conditions of adoption both in Romania and in the Republic of Moldova as they are regulated by the specific laws. The research consists in the analysis of the legal provisions related to the conditions that must be fulfilled by the adopted and by the adopter both from theoretical and practical perspectives. The authors also intend to carry out an analysis of the relevant case law of the courts of law in this matter.
Abstract
This article reports the findings of a multi-country study of medical professionals' perceptions and evaluations of children. The primary aim of the study was to establish the perceptions medical professionals working in three Eastern European countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova) hold toward children identified as “typical”, “at-risk” and “with disability”. A second aim was to explore the existence of country-level differences in medical professionals' perceptions of children. The third aim was to examine the pattern of associations between attitudes toward children and a change…
This documentary from 'Real Stories' tells the stories of three young adults who were born in Romania and spent their early years in large-scale institutions. These young adults were later adopted by familes in the UK. The documentary explores their journeys to finding their birth families in Romania.
Summary
Background
Time-limited, early-life exposures to institutional deprivation are associated with disorders in childhood, but it is unknown whether effects persist into adulthood. We used data from the English and Romanian Adoptees study to assess whether deprivation-associated adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes persist into young adulthood.
Methods
The English and Romanian Adoptees study is a longitudinal, natural experiment investigation into the long-term outcomes of individuals who spent from soon after birth to up to 43 months in severe deprivation in…
Abstract:
This study explores the childhood experiences and transitions to adulthood of 39 Romanian care leavers and adoptees, born around 1989 - 1990. In the past, Romania’s children in care became known to the world as 'the Romanian orphans' and some of them have been subjects to neurodevelopmental research studies focusing on the setbacks posed by institutionalisation in early life. This research project takes a different angle by:
• Using life history approach and therefore capturing the participants’ in-depth accounts of how they recall their childhoods and the…