Internationally and nationally adopted young men were recently reported to have lower than averag... more Internationally and nationally adopted young men were recently reported to have lower than average scores on intelligence tests at military conscription, compared with non-adopted conscripts in Sweden. In this study we used the Swedish national registers to analyse how this lower cognitive competence influences the educational attainment of adoptees. Intelligence test scores at conscription were analysed in relation to educational attainment at follow-up at 25-34 years in male international (n = 2.314) and national (n = 1.153) adoptees, compared with the general population in the same birth cohorts. Korean adoptees more often had obtained a post-secondary education compared with the general population while Non-Korean and national adoptees less often had such an education at follow-up. The international adoptees had a better chance than the general population to complete a post-secondary level and a lower risk to remain at a basic level when their cognitive competence, as measured by intelligence test scores, had been accounted for. This effect was quite similar in biological children in families of international adoptees who had the best test scores, in the Korean adoptees who had slightly better test scores than the general population, and in the Non-Korean adoptees who had considerably lower test scores. National adoptees had similar outcomes in these respects as the general population when test scores had been accounted for. Higher age at adoption was associated with a lower educational attainment in the Non-Korean but not in the Korean adoptees, an effect that was attenuated when test scores were accounted for. We conclude that a lower than average cognitive competence did influence the educational attainment of the Non-Korean international and the Swedish-born adoptees in this study. International but not national adoptees had attained a higher educational level than predicted from their scores on intelligence tests. This education promoting effect was similar in the Korean adoptees, who had high test scores in comparison with the general population, and the Non-Korean adoptees who had comparatively low test scores.
Background. Inter-country adoptees run risks of developmental and health-related problems. Cognit... more Background. Inter-country adoptees run risks of developmental and health-related problems. Cognitive ability is one important indicator of adoptees' development, both as an outcome measure itself and as a potential mediator between early adversities and ill-health. The aim of this study was to analyse relations between proxies for adoption-related circumstances and cognitive development. Method. Results from global and verbal scores of cognitive tests at military conscription (mandatory for all Swedish men during these years) were compared between three groups (born 1968-1976) : 746 adoptees born in South Korea, 1548 adoptees born in other non-Western countries and 330 986 non-adopted comparisons in the same birth cohort. Information about age at adoption and parental education was collected from Swedish national registers. Results. South Korean adoptees had higher global and verbal test scores compared to adoptees from other non-European donor countries. Adoptees adopted after age 4 years had lower test scores if they were not of Korean ethnicity, while age did not influence test scores in South Koreans or those adopted from other non-European countries before the age of 4 years. Parental education had minor effects on the test performance of the adoptees-statistically significant only for non-Korean adoptees' verbal test scores-but was prominently influential for non-adoptees. Conclusions. Negative pre-adoption circumstances may have persistent influences on cognitive development. The prognosis from a cognitive perspective may still be good regardless of age at adoption if the quality of care before adoption has been 'good enough' and the adoption selection mechanisms do not reflect an overrepresentation of risk factors-both requirements probably fulfilled in South Korea.
School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of s... more School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of siblings and majority population peers. The school performance of Korean-born adoptees was on a par with nonadopted peers, but non-Korean adoptees' school performance was lower, as was that of adoptees who were older at the time of adoption. Vinnerljung et al.
The aim of this article is to examine the fact that internationally adopted children, as compared... more The aim of this article is to examine the fact that internationally adopted children, as compared with non adopted, are behind in educational achievement. The paper analyses learning difficulties, language development, hyperactivity behaviour (ADHD) as well as other aspects regarding the educationof adopted children. The research results presented indicate that their capacity for intellectual performance may be limited on account of genetic and adversity factors.Key words: international adoption, educational achievement.El propósito de este artículo es estudiar los resultados del éxito educativo de los niños de adopción internacional comparado con los no adoptados.El artículo analiza las dificultades de aprendizaje, el desarrollo del lenguaje,las conductas hiperactivas, así como otros aspectos de la educación de los niños adoptados. La investigación indica que su capacidad intelectual puede verse limitada a causa de factores genéticos y adversos.Palabras clave: adopción internaciona...
School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of s... more School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of siblings and majority population peers. The school performance of Korean-born adoptees was on a par with nonadopted peers, but non-Korean adoptees’ school performance was lower, as was that of adoptees who were older at the time of adoption.
Videotaped observations of mother–child interactions in adoptive and biological dyads showed some... more Videotaped observations of mother–child interactions in adoptive and biological dyads showed some significant differences in overall quality of interactions at age 2. The differences included both mother and child observed behavior during a free-play and teaching setting. There were no significant differences in adoptive and biological mother’s sensitivity/responsiveness toward their children, which has been documented to be important for children’s favorable social and emotional development. Taking into consideration the late establishment of mother–child interaction in adoptive families and the children’s adverse preadoption experiences, this result must be considered quite propitious. However, there were significant differences in both mother’s and children’s behavior. Adoptive mothers expressed less positive regard for their children in both settings and displayed more intrusive behavior in the free-play setting compared to biological mothers. Furthermore, adopted children showe...
This report presents outcomes from the research project Internationally adopted children's develo... more This report presents outcomes from the research project Internationally adopted children's development in toddler years. The project follows 119 internationally adopted children from their arrival in their new families and up to 48 months. The project is carried out in parallel with a larger similar study on Norwegian born children at similar age stages. This gives a unique possibility to compare adopted and non adopted children's development. The children's development is assessed on the following areas: communication, gross motor development, temperament, challenging behavior, social competence and mental health. The outcomes are based on interviews with parents at the time of adoption, at 24, 36 and 48 months. All the children were adopted before they were 24 months and half of them before 12 months. Most of them were adopted from China,
their implacable opposition to what we were doing and asking what was wrong with the way we used ... more their implacable opposition to what we were doing and asking what was wrong with the way we used to do things in the past. After a letter and two telephone calls this couple said, grudgingly, that they would come to the weekend. They lived locally but were late (the only ones to be so) by nearly an hour. In a letter following the weekend they wrote saying that they 'didn't think we'd last past midday on Saturday ... we can't believe how much our views have changed ... especially after talking with other couples'. It is this sort of ability of people to change if they are encouraged to participate in an educative process that highlights for us more than anything else the belief that the traditional notion of assessment, fixed as it will be in time, does not fit and never can fit with the way people really are. Who could ever say that today's would-be adoptive parents who are not considered 'good enough' could not become so? The agency has attempted to allow for the fact that prospective applicants' thoughts, feelings and attitudes towards adoption will change, by arranging for each social worker to undertake with their couples a six monthly review of their family profiles. What we would like ideally to be able to offer, if we had the resources, would be follow-up weekends. What the weekends have probably done for us as social workers more than anything else is to force us to re-examine our own attitudes towards adoptive parents. We sometimes run the risk of believing that all adoptive parents hide terrible secrets which if we as social workers could only unearth, would make them appear patently unsuitable to adopt. Our weekend programme has made us realise again that the starting point for people who wish to adopt is that they have a great and unmet need to give love, nurture and care to a child.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J145v09n04_03, Sep 23, 2008
ABSTRACT A sample of 77 adopted children from China and a matched sample of 77 Norwegian-born chi... more ABSTRACT A sample of 77 adopted children from China and a matched sample of 77 Norwegian-born children were tested for educational achievement. The results did not show any significant differences between the two groups either in educational performance or in any other related areas. The findings are in contrast to other studies showing that international adoptees as a group have lower performance than non-adoptees. The study did show a greater disparity within the adopted group's performance compared to the Norwegian-born group. Similar results have been found in other studies in this field. Adopted children's academic language skills and the level of hyperactive behavior explained most of the disparity in their educational performance. Age of adoption did not have an effect on adopted children's educational performance, their language skills or problem behavior.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J145v05n02_03, Oct 11, 2008
A sample of 193 internationally adopted children from Colombia and Korea and a matched sample of ... more A sample of 193 internationally adopted children from Colombia and Korea and a matched sample of 193 Norwegian-born children were tested for school competence. The results showed that as a group, adopted children had lower school performances than Norwegian-born children. The disparity within the adopted group's performances was considerable. Most of the disparity was explained by the adopted children's language skills, especially the ability to use the language at a higher cognitive level (school language), and a high frequency of hyperactive behavior. However, while country of origin also contributed significantly, the children's age of adoption did not explain much of the variance.
Internationally and nationally adopted young men were recently reported to have lower than averag... more Internationally and nationally adopted young men were recently reported to have lower than average scores on intelligence tests at military conscription, compared with non-adopted conscripts in Sweden. In this study we used the Swedish national registers to analyse how this lower cognitive competence influences the educational attainment of adoptees. Intelligence test scores at conscription were analysed in relation to educational attainment at follow-up at 25-34 years in male international (n = 2.314) and national (n = 1.153) adoptees, compared with the general population in the same birth cohorts. Korean adoptees more often had obtained a post-secondary education compared with the general population while Non-Korean and national adoptees less often had such an education at follow-up. The international adoptees had a better chance than the general population to complete a post-secondary level and a lower risk to remain at a basic level when their cognitive competence, as measured by intelligence test scores, had been accounted for. This effect was quite similar in biological children in families of international adoptees who had the best test scores, in the Korean adoptees who had slightly better test scores than the general population, and in the Non-Korean adoptees who had considerably lower test scores. National adoptees had similar outcomes in these respects as the general population when test scores had been accounted for. Higher age at adoption was associated with a lower educational attainment in the Non-Korean but not in the Korean adoptees, an effect that was attenuated when test scores were accounted for. We conclude that a lower than average cognitive competence did influence the educational attainment of the Non-Korean international and the Swedish-born adoptees in this study. International but not national adoptees had attained a higher educational level than predicted from their scores on intelligence tests. This education promoting effect was similar in the Korean adoptees, who had high test scores in comparison with the general population, and the Non-Korean adoptees who had comparatively low test scores.
Background. Inter-country adoptees run risks of developmental and health-related problems. Cognit... more Background. Inter-country adoptees run risks of developmental and health-related problems. Cognitive ability is one important indicator of adoptees' development, both as an outcome measure itself and as a potential mediator between early adversities and ill-health. The aim of this study was to analyse relations between proxies for adoption-related circumstances and cognitive development. Method. Results from global and verbal scores of cognitive tests at military conscription (mandatory for all Swedish men during these years) were compared between three groups (born 1968-1976) : 746 adoptees born in South Korea, 1548 adoptees born in other non-Western countries and 330 986 non-adopted comparisons in the same birth cohort. Information about age at adoption and parental education was collected from Swedish national registers. Results. South Korean adoptees had higher global and verbal test scores compared to adoptees from other non-European donor countries. Adoptees adopted after age 4 years had lower test scores if they were not of Korean ethnicity, while age did not influence test scores in South Koreans or those adopted from other non-European countries before the age of 4 years. Parental education had minor effects on the test performance of the adoptees-statistically significant only for non-Korean adoptees' verbal test scores-but was prominently influential for non-adoptees. Conclusions. Negative pre-adoption circumstances may have persistent influences on cognitive development. The prognosis from a cognitive perspective may still be good regardless of age at adoption if the quality of care before adoption has been 'good enough' and the adoption selection mechanisms do not reflect an overrepresentation of risk factors-both requirements probably fulfilled in South Korea.
School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of s... more School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of siblings and majority population peers. The school performance of Korean-born adoptees was on a par with nonadopted peers, but non-Korean adoptees' school performance was lower, as was that of adoptees who were older at the time of adoption. Vinnerljung et al.
The aim of this article is to examine the fact that internationally adopted children, as compared... more The aim of this article is to examine the fact that internationally adopted children, as compared with non adopted, are behind in educational achievement. The paper analyses learning difficulties, language development, hyperactivity behaviour (ADHD) as well as other aspects regarding the educationof adopted children. The research results presented indicate that their capacity for intellectual performance may be limited on account of genetic and adversity factors.Key words: international adoption, educational achievement.El propósito de este artículo es estudiar los resultados del éxito educativo de los niños de adopción internacional comparado con los no adoptados.El artículo analiza las dificultades de aprendizaje, el desarrollo del lenguaje,las conductas hiperactivas, así como otros aspectos de la educación de los niños adoptados. La investigación indica que su capacidad intelectual puede verse limitada a causa de factores genéticos y adversos.Palabras clave: adopción internaciona...
School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of s... more School performance at age 16 for 6448 intercountry adoptees to Sweden was compared with that of siblings and majority population peers. The school performance of Korean-born adoptees was on a par with nonadopted peers, but non-Korean adoptees’ school performance was lower, as was that of adoptees who were older at the time of adoption.
Videotaped observations of mother–child interactions in adoptive and biological dyads showed some... more Videotaped observations of mother–child interactions in adoptive and biological dyads showed some significant differences in overall quality of interactions at age 2. The differences included both mother and child observed behavior during a free-play and teaching setting. There were no significant differences in adoptive and biological mother’s sensitivity/responsiveness toward their children, which has been documented to be important for children’s favorable social and emotional development. Taking into consideration the late establishment of mother–child interaction in adoptive families and the children’s adverse preadoption experiences, this result must be considered quite propitious. However, there were significant differences in both mother’s and children’s behavior. Adoptive mothers expressed less positive regard for their children in both settings and displayed more intrusive behavior in the free-play setting compared to biological mothers. Furthermore, adopted children showe...
This report presents outcomes from the research project Internationally adopted children's develo... more This report presents outcomes from the research project Internationally adopted children's development in toddler years. The project follows 119 internationally adopted children from their arrival in their new families and up to 48 months. The project is carried out in parallel with a larger similar study on Norwegian born children at similar age stages. This gives a unique possibility to compare adopted and non adopted children's development. The children's development is assessed on the following areas: communication, gross motor development, temperament, challenging behavior, social competence and mental health. The outcomes are based on interviews with parents at the time of adoption, at 24, 36 and 48 months. All the children were adopted before they were 24 months and half of them before 12 months. Most of them were adopted from China,
their implacable opposition to what we were doing and asking what was wrong with the way we used ... more their implacable opposition to what we were doing and asking what was wrong with the way we used to do things in the past. After a letter and two telephone calls this couple said, grudgingly, that they would come to the weekend. They lived locally but were late (the only ones to be so) by nearly an hour. In a letter following the weekend they wrote saying that they 'didn't think we'd last past midday on Saturday ... we can't believe how much our views have changed ... especially after talking with other couples'. It is this sort of ability of people to change if they are encouraged to participate in an educative process that highlights for us more than anything else the belief that the traditional notion of assessment, fixed as it will be in time, does not fit and never can fit with the way people really are. Who could ever say that today's would-be adoptive parents who are not considered 'good enough' could not become so? The agency has attempted to allow for the fact that prospective applicants' thoughts, feelings and attitudes towards adoption will change, by arranging for each social worker to undertake with their couples a six monthly review of their family profiles. What we would like ideally to be able to offer, if we had the resources, would be follow-up weekends. What the weekends have probably done for us as social workers more than anything else is to force us to re-examine our own attitudes towards adoptive parents. We sometimes run the risk of believing that all adoptive parents hide terrible secrets which if we as social workers could only unearth, would make them appear patently unsuitable to adopt. Our weekend programme has made us realise again that the starting point for people who wish to adopt is that they have a great and unmet need to give love, nurture and care to a child.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J145v09n04_03, Sep 23, 2008
ABSTRACT A sample of 77 adopted children from China and a matched sample of 77 Norwegian-born chi... more ABSTRACT A sample of 77 adopted children from China and a matched sample of 77 Norwegian-born children were tested for educational achievement. The results did not show any significant differences between the two groups either in educational performance or in any other related areas. The findings are in contrast to other studies showing that international adoptees as a group have lower performance than non-adoptees. The study did show a greater disparity within the adopted group's performance compared to the Norwegian-born group. Similar results have been found in other studies in this field. Adopted children's academic language skills and the level of hyperactive behavior explained most of the disparity in their educational performance. Age of adoption did not have an effect on adopted children's educational performance, their language skills or problem behavior.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1300 J145v05n02_03, Oct 11, 2008
A sample of 193 internationally adopted children from Colombia and Korea and a matched sample of ... more A sample of 193 internationally adopted children from Colombia and Korea and a matched sample of 193 Norwegian-born children were tested for school competence. The results showed that as a group, adopted children had lower school performances than Norwegian-born children. The disparity within the adopted group's performances was considerable. Most of the disparity was explained by the adopted children's language skills, especially the ability to use the language at a higher cognitive level (school language), and a high frequency of hyperactive behavior. However, while country of origin also contributed significantly, the children's age of adoption did not explain much of the variance.
Uploads
Papers by Monica Dalen