/. Child Psychol. Psychiat. Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 401-411, 1997 Cambridge University Press © 1997 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0021-9630/97 $15.00-1-0.00 Parent-reported Problems in 211 Adopted Children: Some Risk and Protective Factors David Howe tJniversity of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K. Parents of 211 adopted children, now young adults, were interviewed about their children's behaviour and development during childhood and adolescence. The children were placed for adoption at different ages. The quality of children's pre-placement care also varied, older- placed children generally experiencing adverse backgrounds prior to joining their adoptive parents. Depending on their quality of pre-placement care, tlie children were placed in one of three groups for the purposes of analysis: (a) baby adoptions, (b) older-children adoptions in which children had enjoyed satisfactory care as babies, and (c) older-children adoptions in which children had experienced adverse care as babies. The rate of adolescent problem behaviours varied between the three groups, with the older-children adoptions/adverse baby care group showing the highest rates. Two subgroups were identified. A quarter of the baby-adopted children were reported to have had problem behaviours during adolescence. In contrast, no problem behaviours were reported in 28 % of the older-adopted/adverse baby care children. Some possible risk and protective factors are explored. Keywords: Adoption, psychopathology, adolescents, adversity. Introduction Research repeatedly shows that there are sotne de- velopmental risks in being adopted. In the case ofchildren adopted as babies by biologically unrelated parents, these risks are relatively low (Fergusson, Lynskey, & Horwood, 1995; Fratter, Rowe, Sapsford, & Thoburn, 1991; Seglow, Pringle, & Wedge, 1972). Psychosocially these children generally fare well and developmentally they compare favourably with their nonadopted counterparts raised in two-parent families. Children adopted as babies certainly outperform children brought up in single-parent famihes (Fergusson et al., 1995) and those born "illegit- imate" (Maughan & Pickles, 1990; Seglow et al., 1972). However, compared to nonadopted children raised in two-parent families, children adopted as babies do reveal slightly higher levels of externalising disorders in adolescence (conduct/oppositional disorders, attention- deficit-hyperactivity, self-report offending and substance abuse behaviours) (Fergusson et al., 1995) and higher scores on items reflecting unhappy, anxious behaviour and problems with peer relationships, again in ado- lescence (Maughan & Pickles, 1990). There is also evidence that adopted children are overrepresented in child psy- chiatric chnical populations (Hersov, 1990; Howe & Hinings, 1987; Warren, 1992). Children adopted at older ages (which can range from 6 months to early adolescence) generally experience Requests for reprints to: Dr. David Howe, School of Social Work, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K. adverse care experiences prior to their placement. These children appear more likely to exhibit a number of psychosocial problems than those adopted as babies (cf.- Hodges & Tizard, 1989; Maughan & Pickles, 1990; Fratteri et al., 1991; Seglow et al., 1972). However, although older-placed children experience more psycho- social problems than similar groups of nonadopted children living with both their biological parents, they show fewer behavioural difficulties than children who were born "illegitimate" or who received institutional care during their early years before being restored to their biological families (Bohman & Sigvardsson, 1990; Hodges & Tizard, 1989; Thoburn, 1990; Triseliotis & Hill, 1990). In the case of placing older children for adoption, there has been a research emphasis on rates of breakdown and disruption rather than on developmental and behavioural outcome. Breakdowns are cases in which adopted children either left or were removed from their adoptive family and to all intents and purposes the adoption was terminated (Barth & Berry, 1988). In the case of placing older children, breakdown rates have been found to vary between 10% and 50%, the rate of breakdown increasing with the rise in age of the child at the time of placement (for a succinct review of disruption rates in the adoption of older children see Borland, O'Hara, & Trisehotis, 1991). The characteristics ofchil- dren whose adoptions "fail" has been of as much interest as the behaviour of children whose adoptions did not break down. The main problems experienced by older- placed adopted children include social relationship difficulties with peers and lower hkelihood of having a special friend (Hodges & Tizard, 1989; Rushton, Treseder, & Quinton, 1995). 401