Romanian Orphans Research Articles

Implications From a 20-Year Study of Romanian Orphans

Implications From a 20-Year Study of Romanian Orphans

Neurobiological limits and the somatic significance of love: Caregivers' engagements with neuroscience in Scottish parenting programmes.

While parents have long received guidance on how to raise children, a relatively new element of this involves explicit references to infant brain development, drawing on brain scans and neuroscientific knowledge. Sometimes called ‘brain-based parenting’, this has been criticised from within sociological and policy circles alike. However, the engagement of parents themselves with neuroscientific concepts is far less researched. Drawing on 22 interviews with parents/carers of children (mostly aged 0–7) living in Scotland, this article examines how they account for their (non-)use of concepts and understandings relating to neuroscience. Three normative tropes were salient: information about children’s processing speed, evidence about deprived Romanian orphans in the 1990s, and ideas relating to whether or not children should ‘self-settle’ when falling asleep. We interrogate how parents reflexively weigh and judge such understandings and ideas. In some cases, neuroscientific knowledge was enrolled by parents in ways that supported biologically reductionist models of childhood agency. This reductionism commonly had generative effects, enjoining new care practices and producing particular parent and infant subjectivities. Notably, parents do not uncritically adopt or accept (sometimes reductionist) neurobiological and/or psychological knowledge; rather, they reflect on whether and when it is applicable to and relevant for raising their children. Thus, our respondents draw on everyday epistemologies of parenting to negotiate brain-based understandings of infant development and behaviour, and invest meaning in these in ways that cannot be fully anticipated (or appreciated) within straightforward celebrations or critiques of the content of parenting programmes drawing on neuropsychological ideas.

Ранняя психосоциальная депривация: лонгитюдные исследования (кейс румынских сирот)

The current digest touches upon the negative effect of institutionalization on child development and the role of early family care in the formation of attachment, prevention of psychopathology and developing the connections between the brain and social behavior (based on the studies of Romanian orphans). (Translated by Elena Mozhaeva).

소아정신의학 역사 속의 진단기준 발전과 현상학적 기술정신의학

Phenomenology has been developed by philosophers like Kant and Husserl since the late 18th century. Jaspers, a German psychiatrist, adopted it into psychopathology studies and accumulated data by closely observing and recording the patients' symptoms and signs. Among descriptions done even before the psychopathology or diagnostic criteria of disorders in the field of child psychiatry was established, we can find exact and valuable descriptions matching the autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The diagnostic criteria of modern childhood psychiatric disorders were established based on these grounds. Phenomenological/descriptive methods in various psychiatric fields lead to medical study methods for social phenomenon such as oiettolie, hikikomori, and internet game addiction. Since Romanian orphans were adopted to the western world, descriptive studies along with neurobiological studies on the influence of stimulus deprivation on emotional and physical development are being conducted. While phenomenology, which was adopted by Jaspers to verify psychopathology, was developed mainly by observation and description, recent studies are explaining such descriptive phenomena even at the synapse level due to advances in neurobiology. Although phenomenological/descriptive psychiatry, describing precise and detailed experiences of patients, is less applied nowadays among modern study methods, we must remember that such descriptions may lead to biological studies and provide evidence to improve the accuracy of choosing and applying treatment methods.

Poverty, maltreatment and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common condition affecting many thousands of children. It is a condition that can have adverse health, social and educational outcomes. It also exacts...

Body & brain: White matter withers with neglect: Mouse experiments illuminate plight of Romanian orphans

Body & brain: White matter withers with neglect: Mouse experiments illuminate plight of Romanian orphans

Policy and Practice Implications from the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study: Forty Five Key Questions

Policy and Practice Implications from the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study: Forty Five Key Questions By Michael, Rutter, Celia, Beckett, Jennifer, Castle, Jana, Kreppner, Suzanne, Stevens and Edmund, Sonuga-Barke London : British Association for Adoption and Fostering ISBN 9781905664757 , 48 pp., £6.95 (pb) In the years following the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 the western media was full of horrific images of Romanian orphans tied up and dying in their cots. It is estimated that over 100,000 children were living in orphanages at that time, having been abandoned by parents who could not afford to keep them. Subsequently a number of these children were adopted into the UK. From the earliest days there was speculation about the likely outcomes of such adoptions, and in 1992 the UK Government initiated the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study, under the guidance of Michael Rutter. This short book constitutes the first attempt by the ERA team to bring together all the hard evidence they gathered in the intervening years. The Study originally drew from 324 children adopted in the early 1990s. The sample focused on 98 children who had been in institutional care beyond the age of 6 months. That group was compared to a smaller group who experienced institutional care for less than 6 months, and also to a ‘control’ group of English adoptees. The book is shaped around 45 key questions, and highlights some encouraging outcomes. There is strong evidence that the psychosocial and physical deprivation endured by these children need not have lasting damage, which confirms my own research in this area. The ERA Study has produced positive findings in terms of the children’s ability to ‘catch up’ in the first 2 years, and to make continuing improvements during the teenage years. Nevertheless there are continuing problems in a substantial minority of cases — around half of those who had experienced institutional care beyond the first 6 months. The team has found it difficult to identify clear causal factors. For example, they found no clear link between continuing problems and either levels of previous deprivation, stereotypically repetitive behaviour or the age of the adopter. However, it is clear the longer a child remained within one of these institutions the more likely it was to have a profoundly depriving effect. The team has identified four deprivation-specific issues — quasi-autism, disinhibited attachment, inattention/overactivity and cognitive impairment. On the other hand, it is important to remember that half of the group has NOT had extensive problems. It is this unpredictability that has made it difficult for the team to make many firm recommendations regarding policy and practice. In their concluding section they say ‘it has been challenging to note the large variations in outcome and the difficulty in identifying the precise mechanisms that underlie these complex patterns of resilience and adversity’. Maybe we should simply celebrate this evidence of the individuality of the human spirit. Rutter’s book makes a substantial contribution to the growing body of work around this subject, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the issue of intercountry adoption.

Mitigating effects of the adoptive caregiving environment on inattention/overactivity in children adopted from Romanian orphanages

We examined inattention/overactivity (I/O) over time and in relation to caregiving in three matched groups: (1) Romanian Orphans (RO) with a minimum of eight months’ deprivation prior to adoption, (2) Early Adopted (EA) children adopted from Romania prior to age four months, and (3) Canadian Born (CB) non-adopted children. Comparisons among groups at 4.5, 10.5, and 17 years of age revealed significantly greater I/O in the Romanian Orphan than Canadian Born group at all ages, and greater than the Early Adopted group at ages 4.5 and 10.5. Canadian Born and Early Adopted groups did not differ. Rates of borderline clinical I/O among Romanian Orphans were significantly higher than rates found in the general population; Canadian Born and Early Adopted groups did not differ from the general population. Among Romanian Orphans, I/O was positively related to duration of deprivation; this association did not attenuate over time. Regressions indicated that I/O at age 10.5 was negatively related to warmth and stimulation in the adoptive home and attachment, after accounting for duration of deprivation and age 4.5 I/O. Authoritarian parenting was positively predictive of I/O in children with minimal deprivation and negatively predictive in children with extensive deprivation. Attachment was negatively predictive of I/O in children with less than 19 months’ deprivation but unrelated to I/O in those with more than 19 months’ deprivation.

Developmental origins of child mental health disorders

Developmental origins of child mental health disorders

A longitudinal study of the physical growth and health of postinstitutionalized Romanian adoptees

In the present longitudinal study, the physical growth and health of 36 early-deprived postinstitutionalized Romanian orphans (ROs; 17 boys) adopted by Canadian families are documented. Data were collected for each child at three time points: at 11 months postadoption, at 4.5 years of age and at 10.5 years of age. Data from the RO children were compared with those from children in two matched comparison groups (Canadian-born [CB] nonadopted children and early-adopted [EA] Romanian children without institutional experience).Results indicated that there was considerable growth retardation in the RO children at times 1 and 2. Nonsignificant differences in height and weight among the RO, CB and EA groups were obtained at time 3, indicating significant growth catch-up. Precocious puberty, a documented feature of some postinstitutionalized children, was not observed in the present study population. At time 3, the RO children did not differ from the CB or EA children on indicators of puberty. The poor physical health of the RO children at time 1 was no longer apparent at time 3. According to parent reports, the RO children were equally as healthy as the CB and EA children.

Humor Comparisons Between Institutionalized Romanian Orphans and American Preschoolers

Humor Comparisons Between Institutionalized Romanian Orphans and American Preschoolers

Daniela's legacy. Nurturing Romanian orphans.

Daniela's legacy. Nurturing Romanian orphans.

Local Brain Functional Activity Following Early Deprivation: A Study of Postinstitutionalized Romanian Orphans

Early global deprivation of institutionalized children may result in persistent specific cognitive and behavioral deficits. In order to examine brain dysfunction underlying these deficits, we have applied positron emission tomography using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose in 10 children (6 males, 4 females, mean age 8.8 years) adopted from Romanian orphanages. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM), the pattern of brain glucose metabolism in the orphans was compared to the patterns obtained from two control groups: (i) a group of 17 normal adults (9 males, 8 females, mean age 27.6 years) and (ii) a group of 7 children (5 males and 2 females, mean age 10.7 years) with medically refractory focal epilepsy, but normal glucose metabolism pattern in the contralateral hemisphere. Consistent with previous studies of children adopted from Romanian orphanages, neuropsychological assessment of Romanian orphans in the present study showed mild neurocognitive impairment, impulsivity, and attention and social deficits. Comparing the normalized glucose metabolic rates to those of normal adults, the Romanian orphans showed significantly decreased metabolism bilaterally in the orbital frontal gyrus, the infralimbic prefrontal cortex, the medial temporal structures (amygdala and head of hippocampus), the lateral temporal cortex, and the brain stem. These findings were confirmed using a region-of-interest approach. SPM analysis showed significantly decreased glucose metabolism in the same brain regions comparing the orphans to the nonepileptic hemisphere of the childhood epilepsy controls. Dysfunction of these brain regions may result from the stress of early global deprivation and may be involved in the long-term cognitive and behavioral deficits displayed by some Romanian orphans.

Interrupting the Cycle of Moral Exclusion: A Communication Contribution to Social Justice Research1

This research broadly maps the territory of moral exclusion to include communication within its boundaries. Communicative strategies may provide the means for the interruption or even the reversal of the moral‐exclusion cycle. While the current studies do not provide empirical verification of the reversal mechanism, they do prepare the theoretical groundwork through the use of a contemporary example: Romanian orphans. The first study is a survey of 225 Romanian students designed to reveal how they analyze the social issue of orphans and whether it is possible to differentiate between those who have and those who have not excluded orphans from their scope of justice. The second study consists of 2 focus‐group discussions conducted in Bucharest: one with project managers from nongovernment organizations working with children in crisis, and the other with ordinary citizens. The results and discussion concentrate on the implications and practical applications for potentially countering moral exclusion.

Parenting Stress in Families Adopting Children From Romanian Orphanages

Parenting stress was evaluated in families that adopted children who were institutionalized for at least 8 months in a Romanian orphanage (RO group) and two comparison groups: families with Canadian-born, nonadopted children (CB group) and families that adopted Romanian orphans who had spent less than 4 months in Romanian orphanages (RC group). Parenting stress, assessed using parent reports on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) (Abidin, 1990), was found to be higher in the RO group than in the comparison groups. Predictors of parenting stress in the RO group included aspects of child behavior such as attachment security and number of behavior problems, as well as family factors such as income, mother's age, and number of Romanian children adopted. Of the various predictors, the relationship between parenting stress and behavior problems was particularly strong. The findings are discussed with respect to their implications for special needs adoptions.

Determinants of Behavioural Problems in Romanian Children Adopted in Ontario

Assessments of developmental status, attachment, and behaviour problems were conducted for 56 Romanian orphans adopted in Ontario. The group as a whole was functioning in the normal range and was considered well adjusted, but children who had experienced less than six months of institutional care had better outcomes than the rest on developmental measures. The adoptees showed an unusual distribution of attachment patterns: Secure attachment was less frequent than normally expected and avoidant attachment was not observed. Unexpectedly, neither age at adoption nor length of institutionalisation was related to attachment outcomes and it was suggested that the present preschool attachment system does not adequately capture attachment phenomena in this sample. Children who had more institution experience, those who were developmentally less competent, and those who were insecurely attached had more parent-reported behaviour problems.

Problems Reported by Parents of Romanian Orphans Adopted to British Columbia

Behaviour problems in Romanian orphans adopted to Canada were examined through parents’ interview reports of specific problems, and children’s scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, Edelbrock, & Howell, 1987) completed by their parents. Three groups of children were studied. Romanian orphanage (RO) children had spent at least 8 months in a Romanian orphanage. Parents’ reports of RO children’s problems were compared to parent reports from 2 comparison groups: (1) Canadian-born children (CB) who were not adopted and never institutionalised; and (2) children who would have gone to a Romanian orphanage had they not been adopted before 4 months of age (Romanian Comparison: RC). RO children scored higher than CB and RC children for Total problems and Internalizing problems on the CBCL. No significant differences were found for any group comparison on Externalizing problems. CBCL scores were positively correlated with RO children’s total time in orphanage. According to parent interview, RO children had more eating problems, medical problems, and stereotyped behaviour problems than both CB and RC children. These problems were distinctive ones, rarely if ever being reported for CB or RC children. It is suggested that these distinctive RO problems arise out of a normal developmental base, and reflect either continuations of orphanage behaviours, reactions to stimuli different from those experienced in orphanage, or lack of opportunity for development or learning within the orphanage.

Overseas aid: lifers giving life.

The plight of Romanian orphans has faded from the media spotlight, but some people are still trying to make a difference to their lives, as Lynn Wallis reports

Analysis of environmental deprivation: cognitive and social development in Romanian orphans.

The cognitive and social developmental status of a representative group of Romanian orphans between the ages of 23 and 50 months living in the Leagan de Copii in Timisoara, Romania was assessed using a variety of traditional and nontraditional measures. Results indicated that the orphanage sample all exhibited deficits in cognitive and social functioning; the majority were severely delayed. Correlations between the traditional and nontraditional measures indicated that children's delays occurred across domains. Deficits were not related to length of time in the orphanage, age at entrance, Apgar scores, or birthweight. The children's greatest capability was in peer social interaction.

Chronic hepatitis B in adopted Romanian children

Four of five Romanian orphans adopted by U.S. families were found to have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after negative test results were reported in Romania before adoption. Another child with known HBV infection was found to be coinfected with hepatitis D virus. There is a high incidence of HBV infection in Romanian orphans, and results of tests for HBV are unreliable in Romania.