Suchergebnisse

A study of the views of two groups of 11-year-old adopted children (one adopted as babies within the UK, n = 47, the other adopted from Romania, aged between two and 43 months, n = 133) indicates that parents underestimate the difficulty that their children have in talking about adoption. Children who found this harder experienced lower self-esteem at age 11 and were also more likely to feel different from their adoptive families, and both these factors were related to the individual child's level of behavioural or cognitive difficulties. Children in the Romanian sample who had another adopted sibling found it easier to talk about their adoption. In summary, the ease with which children can talk about adoption does appear to be associated with higher self-esteem and the individual child's difficulties, as well as family composition. This article by Celia Beckett, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues, Amanda Hawkins, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Emma Colvert, Jana Kreppner, Suzanne Stevens and Michael Rutter follows 'The experience of adoption (1)' (Hawkins et al, 2007), which explored intercountry and domestic adoption from the child's point of view.

Following on from their article, 'Infant adoption in England: a longitudinal account of social and cognitive progress' ( Adoption & Fostering 24:3, 2000), Jenny Castle, Celia Beckett, Christine Groothues and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team focus attention on the same group in relation to the policies and practices of social services and voluntary adoption agencies at placement. From interviews with adoptive mothers of a sample of 52 infants, placed between 1989 and 1991, they examine differences between the two sectors regarding issues such as contact, links with family background, openness and post-placement support. The authors also report on adoptive parents' opinions about the provision of pre- and post-adoption services. They conclude that co-operation between social services and voluntary adoption agencies could improve both services.

In many ways, within-country infant adoptions are becoming a thing of the past. However, several factors arising from this study of social and cognitive progress in children adopted as babies may be equally salient for older-placed children, especially in middle childhood and early adolescence. From a sample of 52 children in the same number of families, placed before the age of six months, Jenny Castle, Celia Beckett, Christine Groothues and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team looked at outcomes such as adoptive parents' marital and emotional adjustment, evaluation of the adoption and children's cognitive attain-ment in two phases — at age four and six years. Overall, the study confirmed earlier research to suggest that infant adoptions tend to lead to very good social and intellectual progress in children, as well as high parental satisfaction.

In this study Christine Groothues, Celia Beckett and Thomas O'Connor examine the outcome of adoptions of 117 children from Romania and a comparison group of 52 UK adopted children, and consider associated factors in the context of previous research findings. The children were assessed at four years and their mothers interviewed; the children had been with the adoptive family for at least two years. Overall the outcome in both groups was very positive, with no breakdowns and a high level of parental satisfaction. Negative parental evaluation of the adoptions was considered separately and a number of factors were found to be related to this outcome; multivariate analysis showed that the child's level of hyperactivity at the time of interview was the most important factor. Despite the severe physical and developmental delay at placement of many of the Romanian children, the outcome picture for both groups was very similar.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to describe the development process of building an assessment model to assess the emotional and behavioural needs of "looked after children".Design/methodology/approach– The paper is a technical paper developing and evaluating a process for comprehensively assessing children ' s needs using a combination of three existing tools.Findings– The paper identifies a model to assess "looked after" children and highlights some of the early benefits and challenges which have been encountered using this model.Practical implications– This paper suggests a model and timeframe to ensure that detailed assessments of the mental health of "looked after" children are effectively carried out.Social implications– There is a potential for an improvement in assessment of looked after children that will lead to the identification of appropriate interventions and services.Originality/value– The paper is new in identifying a combination of assessment measures and a timeline to complete these.

This paper by Celia Beckett, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues, Thomas G O'Connor, Michael Rutter and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team* examines the pattern of health problems as reported by parents in a group of children adopted from Romania and relates these findings to outcomes at age six. The study is based on a representative sample of 165 children, 144 of whom had experienced institutional deprivation, and a UK adoptee group of 52 non-deprived UK adoptees. At the time of UK entry, over half of the children adopted from Romania had marked health problems. The majority had suffered severe malnutrition and there was a high incidence of respiratory, skin and gastro-intestinal infections; 13 per cent had antibodies to hepatitis B. At age six, 17 per cent of the children had conductive hearing loss, 12 per cent had continuing strabismus and 35 per cent skin problems; half of those infected with hepatitis B were still surface antigen positive. Inattention/overactivity at age six was found to be more likely in children who had been exposed to prenatal and postnatal health risks. The children who had quasi-autistic features were also more likely to have strabismus. There were no associations found between health risks and either cognitive outcomes or attachment problems. The risk of inattention/overactivity for children who have suffered marked deprivation was increased for those who had additional health risks.

Background  An important question in community living is what factors influence the extent to which staff provide 'active support'.Methods  Engagement, care practices and a range of staff and organizational characteristics were studied in 72 residential homes serving 359 adults with intellectual disabilities. Managers in 36 settings were trained in person‐centred active support (PCAS). A group comparison design and multivariate analysis was used to investigate the relationship between variables.Results  The PCAS group showed more active support, assistance, other contact from staff and engagement in meaningful activity but no difference in choice‐making or assessment of participation in activities of daily living. The PCAS group had more staff with a professional qualification, were more likely to think that challenging behaviour was caused by lack of stimulation, had attitudes more in line with a policy of community care, rated most care tasks as less difficult, and were more organized to deliver active support. The comparison group were more likely to think that challenging behaviour was learned negative behaviour, showed more teamwork and were more satisfied. Multivariate analysis identified a range of staff and organizational variables associated with engagement and active support.Conclusions  The results suggest that some variables which have not hitherto been studied in relation with active support are associated with it. Professional qualification, knowledge and experience appear to be important as do some staff attitudes, clear management guidance, more frequent supervision and team meetings, training and support for staff to help residents engage in meaningful activity.

PurposeThe Helping Children Achieve study is a randomised controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of parenting interventions for children at risk of anti‐social behaviour. The paper aims to examine the challenges in recruitment to the HCA trial.Design/methodology/approachThe study is on‐going and is being conducted at two sites: an inner city London borough and a city in the South West of England. In total, 395 participants consented to participate in the trial; 325 were assessed at baseline and 215 met the criteria and agreed to take part. Recruitment used population screens and referrals.FindingsThe screening procedure was more labour intensive but attracted greater numbers, including many parents who might not otherwise have sought help and included many families from disadvantaged backgrounds. The referrals included those with more serious problems and a higher proportion engaged with the service. Recruitment rates were lower in the London site due to ineligibility and greater difficulty in accessing schools. Retention in the two areas was similar.Originality/valueThe study provides data on recruitment challenges and lessons learned that could help formulate future policy regarding service delivery. Also of value is the finding that it is possible to conduct population screens in very deprived, multi‐ethnic areas and to get high rates of return.