Table 1.
Characteristics of studies included in review.
| Reference | Adoption subsample | Comparison group(s) | Assessment times and measures | Research type | Theoretical perspective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barone and Lionetti, 2012 | N = 20 (age range = 3–5 y, M age = 3.9 y, SD = 1.4; 16 boys) and their adoptive mothers (M age = 39.9 y, SD = 4.2) and fathers (M age = 41.9 y, SD = 3.5) | N/A | 12–18 mos after adoption: MCAST 12 mos after MCAST: TEC Within first mo of adoption: AAI | Quan | Att – Cat |
| Heller et al., 2006a | Fraternal twins aged 8, boy and girl | N/A | NSST largely based on ASCT and MSSB | Qual | Att – Fine |
| Hodges and Steele, 2000b | Multiple case examples, mostly from boy aged 7 | N/A | SSAP | Qual | Att – Fine |
| Hodges et al., 2003b | N = 33 late-adopted (placed between 4 and 8 y 8 mos of age, M age = 6 y 1 mo; 14 boys and 19 girls) | 31 early-adopted (placed below 12 mos of age, M age = 3.73 mos; 15 boys and 16 girls) | Immediately after adoption (M age = 6 y 5 mos for late-adopted group; 5 y 9 mos for early-adopted group) and 1-y follow-up: SSAP | Quan | Att – Fine |
| Hodges et al., 2005b | N = 63 late-adopted (placed between 4 and 8 y 8 mos of age, M age = 6 y; just over half were boys) | 48 early-adopted (placed below 12 mos of age, M age = 3.73 mos; half were boys) | Immediately after adoption (M age = 6 y 4 mos for late-adopted group; 5 y 9 mos for early-adopted group), 1- and 2-y follow-up: SSAP Immediately after adoption: SDQ | Quan | Att – Dim/ Fine |
| Hodges et al., 2009b | Multiple case examples (girl aged 7, girl aged 5.5, boy aged 8, boy aged 7) | N/A | SSAP | Qual | Att – Dim/ Fine |
| Kocovska et al., 2012 | N = 34 referred with symptoms of indiscriminate friendliness and history of severe maltreatment in early childhood (age range = 5–12 y, M age = 9.4 y, SD = 1.8; 18 boys and 16 girls) | 32 typically developing age- and gender-matched comparisons with no history of maltreatment (M age = 8.7 y, SD = 2.4; 17 boys and 15 girls) | MCAST at M of 51.3 (SD = 26.8) mos in adoptive family for referred group | Quan | Att – Cat |
| Pace et al., 2014c | N = 61 late-placed (age range = 4.5–8.3 y, M age = 6.2 y, SD = 1.1; 34 boys and 27 girls) | N/A | MCAST at M of 13.7 mos (SD = 6.6, range = 7-28) after placement | Quan | Att – Cat/ Dim Mz |
| Pace and Zavattini, 2011c | N = 20 late-placed (age range = 4–7 y, M age = 71.7 mos, SD = 12.4; 9 boys and 11 girls) and their (15) adoptive mothers (M age = 44.1 y, SD = 4.1) | N/A | 6 mos after placement: MCAST At placement: AAI | Quan | Att – Cat |
| Pace et al., 2012c | N = 28 late-placed (age range = 4-7 y, M age = 70.0 mos, SD = 12.8; 13 boys and 15 girls) and their (20) adoptive mothers (age range = 38–52 y, M age = 44.5 y, SD = 4.4) | N/A | 7-8 mos after placement: MCAST 40 days after placement: AAI 40 days after placement: LIPS-R 7–8 mos after placement: PPT | Quan | Att – Cat/ Fine |
| Page et al., 2008a | See (Heller et al., 2006) | See (Heller et al., 2006) | See (Heller et al., 2006) | Qual | Att – Fine Aff |
| Román et al., 2012 | N = 40 (age range = 4–8 y, M age = 76.0 mos, SD = 14.2; 72.5% boys) | 50 institutionalized (age range = 4–8 y, M age = 78 mos, SD = 17.9; 48% boys) and 58 biological comparisons (age range = 4–8 y, M age = 75 mos, SD = 14.6) | SSAP BDI, CEG | Quan | Att – Dim |
| Steele et al., 2007ab | See (Steele et al., 2003) | See (Steele et al., 2003) | Immediately after adoption: SSAP Immediately before adoption: AAI 3 mos after adoption: PDI | Quan | Att – Fine |
| Steele et al., 2003b | N = 61 late-adopted maltreated (age range = 4–8 y, M age = 6; 43% boys) and their (43) adoptive mothers (M age = 40 y) | N/A | SSAP AAI | Mix | Att – Fine |
| Steele et al., 2010b | Case example (boy aged 4.5) | N/A | At and 2 y into placement: SSAP AAI | Qual | Att – Fine Aff Mz |
| Steele et al., 2009b | Two case examples (girl aged 7 and girl aged 6.5) | N/A | Within 3 mos of and 2 y into placement: SSAP Prior to adoption: AAI | Qual | Att – Fine |
| Steele et al., 2008b | N = 58 late-adopted maltreated (age range = 4–8 y, M age = 5.5, SD = 1.4; 43% boys) and their (41) adoptive mothers (M age = 40 y, SD = 6) and fathers (M age = 43 y, SD = 7) | 47 biological comparisons and their (32) parental couples | 2 y after adoption: SSAP Prior to adoption: AAI | Mix | Att – Fine |
| Vorria et al., 2006 | N = 61 (age range = 3.8–4.8 y, M age = 4.2; 32 boys and 29 girls) | 39 comparisons (age range = 3.8–4.8y, M age = 4.2, SD = 0.2; 20 boys and 19 girls) | ASCT MSCA | Quan | Att – Fine |
References with the same superscript report on the same study;
N/A, Not Applicable;
MCAST, Manchester Child Attachment Story Task; TEC, Test of Emotion Comprehension; AAI, Adult Attachment Interview; ASCT, Attachment Story Completion Task; MSSB, MacArthur Story Stem Battery; SSAP, Story Stem Assessment Profile; SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; LIPS-R, Leiter International Performance Scale – Revised; PPT, Peabody Picture Test; BDI, Battelle Development Inventory; CEG, Comprensiòn de Estructuras Gramaticales; PDI, Parent Development Interview; MSCA, McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities;
Quan, primary quantitative study; Qual, primary qualitative study, Mix, primary mixed-methods study;
Att, attachment perspective; Cat, attachment categories; Dim, attachment dimensions; Fine, fine-grained aspects of attachment; Aff, affect-regulatory perspective; Mz, mentalizing perspective.