Since 1990, nearly 73,000 international children have been adopted by American families with the numbers increasing annually by about 18%. Over these years, the percentage of children adopted out of orphanages or baby homes has increased from 20 to 65%. Two studies are proposed. The first is designed to improve understanding of the health and well being of these children, with an eye to describing the sampling frame for planned future studies of neurophysiology-behavior development and """"""""recovery"""""""" in these children. The second is designed toe examine whether pre-adoption institutional cre experiences are associated with tonic increased in cortisol, a stress-sensitive hormone, whose activity is known to be affected in animals by adverse conditions early in development. Thus, in Study 1, in collaboration with the Minnesota's Adoption and Guardianship Division we will abstract data on all international children adopted in Minnesota from 1990 through 1998. We will then survey the families (@ N=4,000) to obtain demographic data, children's pre-adoption histories, health at placement and current health, behavioral and emotional functioning, enrichment experiences and negative life events post-adoption. These data will be used to examine hypotheses regarding factors expected to affect the risk for poor behavioral and health outcomes in these children. In addition, an on- going registry of families interested in future studies will be established. In Study 2 we will examine evening salivary cortisol levels in 300, 5- to 9-year-old registry children selected for differing amounts of pre-adoption institutional care experience. In addition to examining pre- and post-adoption factors related to cortisol levels, associations between cortisol levels and behavior problems will be examined. This work will add significantly to our understanding of the health and behavioral sequelae of early adversity and th potential impact of early adversity on stress-sensitive limbic-hypothalamic processes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH059848-01
Application #
2839227
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1-BRB-K (28))
Program Officer
Boyce, Cheryl A
Project Start
1999-06-15
Project End
2003-05-31
Budget Start
1999-06-15
Budget End
2000-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Department
Pediatrics
Type
Schools of Education
DUNS #
168559177
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Country
United States
Zip Code
55455
Eckerle, Judith K; Hill, Lindsay Knauf; Iverson, Sandra et al. (2014) Vision and hearing deficits and associations with parent-reported behavioral and developmental problems in international adoptees. Matern Child Health J 18:575-83
Kertes, Darlene A; van Dulmen, Manfred (2012) Latent state trait modeling of children's cortisol at two points of the diurnal cycle. Psychoneuroendocrinology 37:249-55
Johnson, Anna E; Bruce, Jacqueline; Tarullo, Amanda R et al. (2011) Growth delay as an index of allostatic load in young children: predictions to disinhibited social approach and diurnal cortisol activity. Dev Psychopathol 23:859-71
Kroupina, Maria G; Bauer, Patricia J; Gunnar, Megan R et al. (2010) Institutional care as a risk for declarative memory development. Adv Child Dev Behav 38:137-59
Bruce, Jacqueline; Tarullo, Amanda R; Gunnar, Megan R (2009) Disinhibited social behavior among internationally adopted children. Dev Psychopathol 21:157-71
Kertes, Darlene A; Gunnar, Megan R; Madsen, Nicole J et al. (2008) Early deprivation and home basal cortisol levels: a study of internationally adopted children. Dev Psychopathol 20:473-91
Hellerstedt, Wendy L; Madsen, Nikki J; Gunnar, Megan R et al. (2008) The International Adoption Project: population-based surveillance of Minnesota parents who adopted children internationally. Matern Child Health J 12:162-71
Gunnar, Megan R; van Dulmen, Manfred H M; International Adoption Project Team (2007) Behavior problems in postinstitutionalized internationally adopted children. Dev Psychopathol 19:129-48
Lee, Richard M; Grotevant, Harold D; Hellerstedt, Wendy L et al. (2006) Cultural socialization in families with internationally adopted children. J Fam Psychol 20:571-80
Lee, Richard M (2003) The Transracial Adoption Paradox: History, Research, and Counseling Implications of Cultural Socialization. Couns Psychol 31:711-744