This study examined the impact of adrenocortical activity and post-adoption parenting on disinhibited social engagement (DSE) across the first two years post-adoption (age at adoption: 16–36 months) and observed kindergarten social outcomes in previously institutionalized children compared to non-adopted children.

This comment piece by Charles H Zeanah and Kathryn L Humphreys accompanies a study on the number of children in institutional care around the globe, entitled 'Prevalence and number of children living in institutional care: global, regional, and country estimates,' published in the Lancet in March 2020.

This scoping review adopts a descriptive focus to compile and analyze those studies published between 2007 and 2017 that have assessed the impact of situations of vulnerability or institutionalization on linguistic and communicative development.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the emotional and behavioral problems of children living in child care institutions (CCIs) in Kandy District, Sri Lanka, and to explore associated factors.

In this study, autobiographical memory tests, working memory, and a depressive symptom assessment were administered to 48 adolescents in care with a history of maltreatment (22 abused and 26 neglected) without mental disorder, who had been removed from their family and were living in residential child care, and to 61 adolescents nonmaltreated who had never been placed in care.

This review from PeerJ aimed to evaluate currently available data on the nutrition status of children living within institutionalized care.

This 'companion primer' from the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) provides an overview of the ways in which adversity impacts brain development and how the use of appropriate interventions based on relationships can help reshape children's brains, leading to greater wellbeing and better outcomes for kids from hard places.

To investigate the impact of childhood deprivation on the adult brain and the extent to which structural changes underpin these effects, the authors of this study from PNAS 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.

The goal of this case study is to demonstrate a working model of family-based care in Zambia which can produce a replicable framework that can be modified for other regions and circumstances.

The current literature review provides a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding child institutional maltreatment.