Development of Adopted Children with Histories of Early Adversity

Femmie Juffer Jesús Palacios Lucy Le Mare Edmund J. S. Sonuga‐Barke Wendy Tieman Marian J. Bakermans‐Kranenburg Panayiota Vorria Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Frank C. Verhulst

Abstract

This chapter from Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development Volume 76, Issue 4 first presents a review of research on the development of adopted children, focusing on meta‐analytic evidence and highlighting comparisons between adopted children with and without histories of early adversity. Some methodological issues arising from this literature are considered as well. Second, 7 longitudinal studies of adopted children's development are described, and the convergence of findings across the longitudinal studies and with the cross‐sectionally based meta‐analytic evidence is discussed. Third, the role of the adoptive family in supporting adopted children's development is explored.