Tony Tan Department of Psychological & Social Foundations College of Education University of South Florida

What I plan to do today: Share the experience that led me to pursue adoption research. Report findings from my longitudinal study on children adopted from China. Discuss the implications of my research findings for orphanage care and post-adoption care.

From Personal Observations to Research 1970s-1980s in a village in Sichuan: As a child, often heard ‘whispering’ about ‘given-away wa-wa’ (wa wa = infant). Early 1990s in Medical School in Xi’an: First encounter with abandoned children; first learned about international adoption. Late 1990s in Law School in Beijing: Gradually realized that adoption might be the only viable options for most of the abandoned child. Early 2000s in Graduate School at Harvard: Realized that Korean adoptees struggled but there was little research.

Research on Chinese Adoptees  Language  Social-emotional adjustment  Academic performance  Long-term mental health outcomes

Study Design: Children and Family Time 1 (T1) (2005) Time 2 (T2) (2007) Time 3 (T3) (2009) Age (SD )4.9 yrs (2.9)7.0 yrs (2.9)8.9 yrs (2.9) ≥ 6 years (%)30.8%51.5%87.2% N1079 children (852 families) 869 children (676 families) 751 children (606 families) Attrition210 children (176 families) 120 children (70 families) Retention (%)79%80.5% (79.3%)86.2% (89.5%)

Study Design: Measures Time 1 (2005) 1. Child Behavior checklist (CBCL). 2. Index of pre-adoption adversity: Signs/Symptoms; Developmental delays at adoption; Initial adaptation to adoption. Time 2 (2007) 1.CBCL; 2.Social Skills Rating Systems (SSRS)-Teacher and Parent 3.Sleep problems and family sleep arrangement. Time 3 (2009) 1.CBCL; 2.Parenting Styles/Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ); 3.Social Problem Questionnaire (SPQ) (for family stress); 4.Life Changes since 2007 (e.g., health, moving); 5.Saliva Sample (130 children, 80 adoptive parents) (for 5- HTT and MAO-A).

Results: Language for years old. Typically, a child adopted around one year old becomes comparable to a non-adopted age peer by age 2.5 – 3.o years in vocabulary and sentence production. Age yo: typical vocabulary size: about words. Language delays: About 16%.

Results: Social-Emotional Adjustment Vast majority adjust very well: Clinical-level maladjustment: 9-15% (norm: 18-21%). For children with clinical-level maladjustment in 2005, % persisted into 2007, and 30-40% persisted into Preschoolers: better than non-adopted American children; K-12 children: similar to non-adopted American peers. Major concerns: attachment problems, sleep problems; difficulties with peer relationships (fear of loss and abandonment). Waiting child program fares equally well.

Academic Performance Better than non-adopted American children Parents rated their children’s academic performance less favorably than teachers. Example: Parent: child is average in reading; Teacher: child is above average in reading.

Long-term Mental Health Unknown. Research is ongoing. The adopted children just started entering adolescence in large numbers. My prediction. Likely to be good overall. Anxiety might be prevalent (due to genetics and experience). Depression might increase (due to co-morbidity with anxiety).

What predicts the children’s post-adoption Social-emotional development? Age at adoption: Yes or No? Severity of adversity before adoption: Yes or No? Foster care before adoption: Yes or No? Single-parent or two-parent household: Yes or No? Parenting styles? Yes or No?

Implications Looking at the adopted Chinese children from a deficit perspective might not be appropriate; Improvement in orphanage care will likely help the children adapt, at least initially. Foster care needs to be implemented meaningfully. Parents need to address attachment and sleep issues proactively. Parents need to vigilantly prepare/train the children to handle anxiety-provoking situations. Monitoring development in adolescence is important.

Summary CBCL ratings remain favorable over time; SSRS ratings by teacher and parent are both favorable; Indirect measures of pre-adoption adversity correlate with outcomes better than age at adoption. Post-adoption environment also impacts adopted children’s adjustment.

Acknowledgements Adoptive parents and their children. Colleagues Dr. Kofi Marfo and Robert Dedrick USF established researcher grant.

Supporting Documents Graphs with statistical comparisons.

Results: CBCL: Preschool-age Adopted Chinese Girls ***

CBCL: School-age Adopted Chinese Girls ***

SSRS-Parent Ratings (T2): Preschool Group

SSRS-Parent Rating (T2): Elementary group

SSRS-Parent Rating: High School

SSRS-Teacher Rating (T2)

SSRS-Teacher Ratings: Academic Competence

Age at Adoption is not a good predictor Internalizing Problems

Pre-adoption adversity is a good predictor Internalizing Problems T1: r=0.17*** T2: r=0.11*** T1: r=0.12***

Initial Adaptation to Adoption is a Good Predictor Internalizing Problems T1: r =0.22*** T2: r = 0.15*** T1: r=0.14***

Life changes since 2007 Internalizing Problems T1: r=ns T2: r=ns T1: r=ns

Authoritative parenting Internalizing Problems T1: r=ns T2: r=ns T1: r=-.14***

Authoritarian Parenting Internalizing Problems T1: r=0.14*** T2: r=0.17*** T1: r=0.29***

Social Skills Rating Systems (SSRS) Adopted Chinese girls were more likely to be rated as having “Above Average” overall social competence by teachers than by parents. Teacher ratings in modest-moderate agreement with parent ratings on social competence.