Adverse Childhood Experiences of Children Adopted from Care: The Importance of Adoptive Parental Warmth for Future Child Adjustment

Rebecca E. Anthony, Amy L. Paine and Katherine H. Shelton
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Rebecca E. Anthony: Centre for the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer), School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, 1-3 Museum Place, Cardiff CF10 3BD, UK
Amy L. Paine: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
Katherine H. Shelton: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: We investigated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and children’s internalising symptoms and externalising problems in the Wales Adoption Cohort Study, a prospective longitudinal study that used case file records ( n = 374) for a sample of British children adopted from care ( M = 2 years, 55% male). Parents ( n = 96) completed questionnaires at 3–5 months, 15–17 months, and 31–33 months post-placement. We hypothesised that: (1) children adopted from care would have experienced more ACEs than children in the general population; (2) the number of ACEs would be associated with higher internalising symptom and externalising problem scores; and (3) adoptive parental warmth would moderate the relationship between ACEs and post-placement internalising symptoms and externalising problems. Nearly half (42%) of the children experienced four or more ACEs. Internalising symptoms and externalising problems were significantly higher than the UK general population. The number of ACEs was associated with internalising symptoms 3 years post-adoptive placement but this relationship was moderated by adoptive parental warmth. This study profiles the experiences and characteristics of a national sample of adopted children and highlights the potential importance of parent warmth as a factor that ameliorates the impact of ACEs on poor child outcomes.

Keywords: adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); adoption; looked after; parental warmth; mental health; child adjustment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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