Infant domestic adoptions followed up to adulthood

Considerations with reference to British birth cohort data

Bibliographic Data

ID11942707
AuthorsAlan Rushton (King's College London, corresponding author), Barbara Maughan (0000-0002-8887-3484, King's College London), Margaret Grant (0000-0002-3800-8193), Maggie Grant (0000-0003-4077-5890, Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, Edinburgh, UK), Rukmen Sehmi (NatCen Social Research, London, UK)
Year2020
Volume44
Issue4
Pages334-348
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAdoption & Fostering (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0308575920968237
OpenAlexW3113053985
LanguageEN
References cited24

Studies of adult outcomes of infant domestic adoptions are considered: the range of psychological and behavioural outcomes recorded, the current state of knowledge summarised and the importance of the chosen comparison groups discussed. The social context of infant adoptions is described. Findings from our follow-ups of British infant adoptions in the post-World War 11 period are then briefly reported and set alongside the previous studies. In these follow-ups, infant adopted children were tracked up to mid-life and compared with others born in similar circumstances and with those raised in two-parent families. We summarise findings on the long-term influence of factors in the prenatal period and in the adoptive home environment. We discuss how rearing in adoptive homes may provide protective effects in relation to internalising problems, but may not be as protective in relation to externalising outcomes. Implications for adoption policy and practice are drawn out

Cohort · Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Geography · Sociology · Child Welfare and Adoption · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology

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