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Psychological consequences of early global deprivation: an overview of findings from the English & Romanian Adoptees Study

Psychological consequences of early global deprivation: an overview of findings from the English & Romanian Adoptees Study
Psychological consequences of early global deprivation: an overview of findings from the English & Romanian Adoptees Study
The English & Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study follows children who spent their first years of life in extremely depriving Romanian institutions before they were adopted by families in the UK. The ERA study constitutes a “natural experiment” that allows the examination of the effects of radical environmental change from a profoundly depriving institution environment to an adoptive family home. The cohort has been assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15 years, and has provided seminal insights into the effect of early global deprivation. The current paper focuses on the long-term psychological sequelae associated with deprivation experiences. These deprivation specific problems (DSP) constitute a striking pattern of behavioural impairments, in its core characterized by deficits in social cognition and behaviour, as well as quasi-autistic features, often accompanied by cognitive impairment and symptoms of ADHD. Possible moderating influences, including variations in family environment, pre-adoption characteristics, and genetic variation, will be discussed to answer the question why some individuals have prospered while others have struggled. Apart from findings on the moderating effect of variation in genes associated with serotonergic and dopaminergic signalling involving specific phenotypes, heterogeneity in outcome is largely unexplained. The review will conclude with an outlook on currently ongoing and future research of the ERA study cohort, which involves the investigation of neurobiological and epigenetic mechanisms as possible mediators of the long-term effects of institutional deprivation
1016-9040
138-151
Kumsta, Robert
88285030-6a7c-4ef1-ba75-b78e09cd2f1e
Kreppner, Jana
6a5f447e-1cfe-4654-95b4-e6f89b0275d6
Kennedy, Mark
ce519bfe-fe41-455f-94ce-f2c2658f0777
Knights, Nicky
02166aaf-79b6-4720-a96b-9d7c5633a8fc
Rutter, Michael
14c45b9c-5f8e-4a19-a6fc-ce40ca498069
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S.
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635
Kumsta, Robert
88285030-6a7c-4ef1-ba75-b78e09cd2f1e
Kreppner, Jana
6a5f447e-1cfe-4654-95b4-e6f89b0275d6
Kennedy, Mark
ce519bfe-fe41-455f-94ce-f2c2658f0777
Knights, Nicky
02166aaf-79b6-4720-a96b-9d7c5633a8fc
Rutter, Michael
14c45b9c-5f8e-4a19-a6fc-ce40ca498069
Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S.
bc80bf95-6cf9-4c76-a09d-eaaf0b717635

Kumsta, Robert, Kreppner, Jana, Kennedy, Mark, Knights, Nicky, Rutter, Michael and Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S. (2015) Psychological consequences of early global deprivation: an overview of findings from the English & Romanian Adoptees Study. European Psychologist, 20, 138-151.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The English & Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study follows children who spent their first years of life in extremely depriving Romanian institutions before they were adopted by families in the UK. The ERA study constitutes a “natural experiment” that allows the examination of the effects of radical environmental change from a profoundly depriving institution environment to an adoptive family home. The cohort has been assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15 years, and has provided seminal insights into the effect of early global deprivation. The current paper focuses on the long-term psychological sequelae associated with deprivation experiences. These deprivation specific problems (DSP) constitute a striking pattern of behavioural impairments, in its core characterized by deficits in social cognition and behaviour, as well as quasi-autistic features, often accompanied by cognitive impairment and symptoms of ADHD. Possible moderating influences, including variations in family environment, pre-adoption characteristics, and genetic variation, will be discussed to answer the question why some individuals have prospered while others have struggled. Apart from findings on the moderating effect of variation in genes associated with serotonergic and dopaminergic signalling involving specific phenotypes, heterogeneity in outcome is largely unexplained. The review will conclude with an outlook on currently ongoing and future research of the ERA study cohort, which involves the investigation of neurobiological and epigenetic mechanisms as possible mediators of the long-term effects of institutional deprivation

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More information

Published date: 15 October 2015
Organisations: Clinical Neuroscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 370119
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/370119
ISSN: 1016-9040
PURE UUID: 3187bf9c-d830-4a36-958a-eeb0360f8b70
ORCID for Jana Kreppner: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-9083

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Oct 2014 11:05
Last modified: 27 Apr 2022 01:51

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Contributors

Author: Robert Kumsta
Author: Jana Kreppner ORCID iD
Author: Mark Kennedy
Author: Nicky Knights
Author: Michael Rutter
Author: Edmund J.S. Sonuga-Barke

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