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. 2019 Jun 22;16(12):2212.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16122212.

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

Rebecca E Anthony  1 , Amy L Paine  2 , Katherine H Shelton  3
Affiliations

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

Rebecca E Anthony et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

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: adoption; adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); child adjustment; looked after; mental health; parental warmth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of adverse life experiences (ACEs) children experienced in the care of their birth parents (n = 374, child adoption reports [CAR] sample).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The moderating role of parental warmth (±1 SD) in the relationship between ACE count and T3 internalising problems (n = 62). Note: The faded lines above and below low and high warmth show the 95% confidence bands.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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