Developmental Outcomes of Internationally Adopted Children.

This study followed the development of a sample of 106 (67 girls) internationally adopted children over a period of 18 months. Children were adopted from five birth regions, including China, Korea, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and other Asian countries. Mean age at adoption was 11 months. Mothers completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at 6, 12, and 24 months post-adoption, assessing children's gross and fine motor, communicative, personal-social, and problem solving skills. Results revealed that the sample as a whole demonstrated linear improvement over time in most developmental domains, but children with initially low scores remained significantly lower than other children at the 18-month follow-up. At the first time point, communication was the domain where children most commonly experienced delays. Children with medical problems had significantly lower developmental scores than those without medical diagnoses. ASQ scores were unrelated to age at adoption, but significant differences by birth country region were found. Across most domains, children adopted from Eastern Europe showed generally lower scores than children adopted from other birth regions.