Educational Outcomes of Children Adopted From Eastern Europe, Now Ages 8–12

Abstract

More than 230,000 children have been adopted from other countries by American parents since 1989, including more than 72,000 from Eastern Europe. Many arrive with growth and developmental delays, and medical problems. Yet, little is known about the long-term outcomes for these children. Therefore, we assessed long-term developmental, neurobehavioral, and educational performance outcomes in a group of adopted 8- to 12-year-old children from Eastern Europe. A parent questionnaire was mailed to families of school-age Eastern European adopted children who had been in the United States for two years or more. Of the 81 children (33M: 48F) described in the returned surveys, 84 percent were 3 years old or older at adoption. Sixty-one percent of the children received special education services, and 32 percent received occupational therapy. Fifty-two percent had language disorders, 38 percent had attentional problems, and 36 percent had learning disabilities. Thirty-five percent had multiple neurodevelopmental diagnoses. Thirty-two percent of the children had post-traumatic stress disorder; these children were older at adoption than those without this problem (p = 0.04). Anxiety and depression each occurred in 19 percent of children; 66 percent of those with depression also had anxiety (p = 0.0001). Most children attended school willingly (70 percent), had a best friend (63 percent), and got along with their parents (75 percent). Although nearly two-thirds of the internationally adopted children received special education services and 35 percent had multiple neurodevelopmental disorders, most children displayed remarkable social, peer, and family integration skills.