Family environment and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adopted children: associations with family cohesion and adaptability

• Published in: Child : care, health & development Vol. 40; no. 6; pp. 853 - 862
• Main Authors: Crea, T. M., Chan, K., Barth, R. P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2014
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; ADHD; Adolescent; Adoption; Adoption - psychology; Adult; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Evidence-Based Practice; Families & family life; family environment; Family Relationship; Female; Gene-Environment Interaction; Humans; Hyperactivity; Infant; Male; Middle Aged; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting - psychology; Parents - psychology; SEM; Social Environment; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; USA, California; ADHD; SEM; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; adoption; family environment
• ISSN: 0305-1862; 1365-2214
• DOI: 10.1111/cch.12112

Background Positive family environments are crucial in promoting children's emotional and behavioural well‐being, and may also buffer development of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is highly heritable, but psychosocial factors in the family environment, particularly family cohesion and communication, may mediate genetic predispositions. The purpose of the current study is to examine the mediating influence of the adoptive family environment between pre‐adoptive risk factors and youths' ADHD symptomatology at 14 years post adoption. Methods The data used in this study were obtained from the fourth wave of the California Long‐Range Adoption Study (CLAS) (n = 449). Using structural equation modelling (SEM), family sense of coherence and family adaptability were tested as possible mediators between environmental and biological predictors and ADHD symptomatology. Predictors included birthweight, gender, age at adoption, adoption from foster care, transracial adoption status, ethnicity and having a previous diagnosis of ADHD. Results Results show that, while adoption from foster care is negatively associated with family functioning, higher family cohesion and adaptability mediate this influence on children's ADHD symptomatology. Older age of adoption directly predicts greater ADHD symptoms with no mediating influence of the family environment. Conclusions The mediating influence of the family environment between children's risk factors and ADHD symptoms suggests that family intervention strategies may be helpful in improving adopted children's outcomes. Once children are adopted, targeting family communication patterns and dynamics may be an additional part of developing an evidence‐based, post‐adoption services toolkit.