Factors affecting attachment in international adoptees at 6months post adoption

Abstract

This pilot study examined the effect of five child and maternal factors on the attachment security of international adoptees at six months post adoption. Results from the sample of 22 adoptive mother-infant dyads showed that age at adoption, developmental status, length and quality of preadoption care, and maternal attachment representations were not significant predictors of child attachment status. The number of preadoption placements and the child's stress level did significantly predict attachment status, accounting for approximately 40% of the variance in attachment security. Number of preadoption placements uniquely contributed 14% of that variance (p=.007) while stress level uniquely contributed 12% (p=.01). Children who had fewer preadoption placements had higher attachment security; similarly, children who had lower stress levels had higher attachment security. Results suggest that consistency of preadoption care was more important than its length or quality. Further, the relationship between stress level and attachment security raises the possibility that a lower stress level functions as a protective factor for the developing attachment with the adoptive mother.

The key role of positive parenting and children’s temperament in post‐institutionalized children’s socio‐emotional adjustment after adoption placement. A RCT study

“…We used a version of an evidence‐based intervention specifically formulated for adoptive families, the VIPP‐FC/A, in order to manipulate a clearly defined environmental variable that is, maternal emotional availability and experimentally explored its role on the three children’s outcomes aforementioned as intervention targets. Furthermore, distal variables, including age of the children at adoption and their gender, that were identified by previous research as being able to affect children’s outcomes (e.g., Niemann & Weiss, ; O’Connor et al, ; van den Dries et al, ) were controlled in order to unmask possible confounding effects on outcomes. Additionally, we performed mediation and moderated mediation analyses in order to better understand the effect of maternal emotional availability on children’s socio‐emotional adjustment during the first year and a half after adoption, and to inquiring the moderating role of children’s individual traits in this process.…”

“…Among variables investigated thus far to identify what contributes to socio‐emotional recovery after adoption placement, research studies have considered distal and proximal variables. Among the distal variables, the child’s age at adoption and length of institutionalization have been extensively explored with mixed outcomes (Niemann & Weiss, ; van den Dries, Juffer, van IJzendoorn, & Bakermans‐Kranenburg, ), and effects ranging from moderate to trivial (see, e.g., Niemann & Weiss, ; O’Connor, Rutter, & English and Romanian Adoptees Study Team, ; van den Dries et al, ). Considering more proximal variables, robust evidence supports the finding that parental sensitivity in caregiving (commonly named positive parenting), is among the main factors affecting children’s socio‐emotional enhancement (Barone, Barone, Dellagiulia, & Lionetti, ; Drozd, Bergsund, Hammerstrøm, Hansen, & Jacobsen, ; Juffer, Bakermans‐Kranenburg, & van IJzendoorn, ).…”

Residential context, institutional alloparental care, and child growth in Jamaica

“…She also outlined her goal of creating an environment that minimized stress and encouraged educational achievement. Reduced stress and consistent care has been linked to better attachment and long‐term health outcomes in orphaned and adopted children (Niemann and Weiss, ). This mechanism coupled with the smaller size of Guppy Pond likely influenced child well‐being despite the institutional nature of the residence setting.…”

Attachment Behavior of Children Adopted Internationally at Six Months Post Adoption

“…This study focuses solely on the child’s behavior in the dyadic construct of attachment; the mother’s contribution to her child’s attachment behavior, as well as additional factors affecting this behavior, are reported elsewhere (Niemann & Weiss, 2011). …”