Rees C A, Selwyn J
Tyndalls Park Children's Centre, University of Bristol, 31 Tyndalls Park Road, Bristol BS8 1PH, UK.
Child Care Health Dev. 2009 Jul;35(4):561-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.00978.x.
To explore use of adoption in remedying abuse and neglect, to inform child protection practice and to identify professional responsibilities to adoptive families.
A cohort of 130 children was identified for whom adoption was recommended in 1991-1996 at a mean age of 5.7 years (range 3-11). All were in local authority care for child protection reasons.
information was gathered from social work records. The children were traced between 6 and 11 years later and their adopters interviewed. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Parent-Child Communication Scale were completed.
All but three birth parents had traumatic childhoods involving abuse, neglect and/or time in care. Eighty-six per cent had violent adult relationships. Mental illness, learning difficulties and substance abuse were prominent. Sixty-seven per cent of families were known to social services when children were born, but 98% experienced abuse or neglect. Most adopters found the first year challenging, though rewarding. Depression, anxiety and marital problems were common. Children's learning difficulties, conduct problems, emotional 'phoniness' and rejection affected closeness. At follow-up 28% described rewarding, happy placements, and 62% described continuing difficulties tempered by rewards. However, 10% reported no rewards. Hyperactivity and inattention frequently persisted despite stable adoption and were associated with conduct and attachment difficulties. Use of professional services was substantial. Thirty-eight per cent of children failed to achieve stable adoption. Later entry to care correlated with poorer outcome.
This study highlights the importance in safeguarding children of considering the implications of parental childhood experiences, and indicates the risk of delay. The high prevalence of domestic violence in birth families indicates the need for better resources for managing emotional dysregulation. Adoption is a valuable therapeutic tool, but professional responsibilities in supporting it need to be acknowledged and adequately resourced. Dysfunctional hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis programming may contribute to persisting difficulties. Supporting substitute care should be considered integral to safeguarding children.
探讨收养在补救虐待和忽视问题中的作用，为儿童保护实践提供信息，并明确对收养家庭的专业责任。
确定了一组130名儿童，他们于1991年至1996年被建议收养，平均年龄为5.7岁（范围3至11岁）。所有儿童均因儿童保护原因由地方当局照料。
从社会工作记录中收集信息。在6至11年后对这些儿童进行追踪，并对他们的收养父母进行访谈。完成了优势与困难问卷和亲子沟通量表。
除三名亲生父母外，所有亲生父母都有创伤性的童年经历，包括虐待、忽视和/或在照料机构生活过。86%的人有暴力的成年关系。精神疾病、学习困难和药物滥用很突出。67%的家庭在孩子出生时就为社会服务机构所知，但98%的家庭经历过虐待或忽视。大多数收养父母发现第一年具有挑战性，但也有回报。抑郁、焦虑和婚姻问题很常见。孩子的学习困难、行为问题、情感“虚假”和被拒绝影响了亲密关系。在随访中，28%的人描述收养安置有回报、幸福，62%的人描述持续存在困难，但有回报缓和了这些困难。然而，10%的人报告没有回报。尽管收养稳定，但多动和注意力不集中经常持续存在，并与行为和依恋困难有关。专业服务的使用很广泛。38%的儿童未能实现稳定收养。较晚进入照料机构与较差的结果相关。
本研究强调了在保护儿童方面考虑父母童年经历影响的重要性，并指出了延迟的风险。亲生家庭中家庭暴力的高发生率表明需要更好的资源来管理情绪失调。收养是一种有价值的治疗工具，但在支持收养方面的专业责任需要得到认可并有足够的资源。下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴功能失调的编程可能导致持续存在的困难。应将支持替代照料视为保护儿童不可或缺的一部分。
