The Impact of Pre-Adoption Stress on the Romanian Adoptees' Transitions to Adulthood and Adult Attachment: Perspectives of the Adoptees and the Adoptive Parents
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THE IMPACT OF PRE-ADOPTION STRESS ON THE ROMANIAN ADOPTEES' TRANSITIONS TO ADULTHOOD AND ADULT ATTACHMENT: PERSPECTIVES OF THE ADOPTEES AND THE ADOPTIVE PARENTS by CRISTINA NEDELCU Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Dissertation Chair: Victor K. Groza, Ph.D. CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY January 2019 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Cristina Nedelcu Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree* Committee Chair Victor Groza, PhD Committee Member Elizabeth Tracy, PhD Committee Member Meeyoung Min, PhD Committee Member Denise Bothe, MD Date of Defense: May 9, 2018 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein 1 Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 7 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 8 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Scope of the Problem .......................................................................................... 10 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 10 Romania: History and Background .......................................................................................... 11 Institutional Care for Romanian Children under Communism ............................................ 16 1. General structure of the system ....................................................................................... 16 2. The policy of defectology ............................................................................................... 17 3. Institutions for typically developing children .............................................................. 18 4. Institutions for the handicapped ..................................................................................... 19 5. Humanitarian crisis .......................................................................................................... 20 International Adoptions and Adoptions from Romania ........................................................ 21 1. International adoptions .................................................................................................... 21 2. Adoptions from Romania ................................................................................................ 22 Development in the Context of International Adoptions ...................................................... 27 Purpose of Current Study .......................................................................................................... 29 Research Questions .................................................................................................................... 29 Significance for Practice and Future Research ....................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Review of the Theoretical and Empirical Literature .................................. 35 Overview ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Attachment .................................................................................................................................. 35 Neuroscience of attachment ........................................................................................... 35 Bowlby's Theory of Attachment .................................................................................... 40 1. Overview .................................................................................................................. 40 2. Definitions of attachment ...................................................................................... 40 3. Functions of attachment ......................................................................................... 41 4. The attachment behavioral systems and internal working models ................... 43 Attachment styles ....................................................................................................................... 44 Attachment and its impact on development ............................................................................ 47 Factors that affect attachment ................................................................................................... 51 2 Attachment through the life span ............................................................................................. 54 Pre-adoption stress ..................................................................................................................... 55 Emerging Adulthood .................................................................................................................. 59 1. Emerging adulthood as a developmental stage ..................................................... 59 2. Characteristics of emerging adulthood ................................................................... 61 a. Identity exploration ...................................................................................... 62 b. Instability ....................................................................................................... 65 c. Self-focus ....................................................................................................... 66 d. The age of feeling in-between .................................................................... 67 e. The age of possibilities ................................................................................ 68 3. Markers of adulthood ................................................................................................ 69 4. Positive development in emerging adulthood ....................................................... 72 5. Review of studies on Emerging Adulthood ........................................................... 74 a. Introduction ................................................................................................... 74 b. Emerging Adulthood and adoption ............................................................ 74 c. Emerging Adulthood and attachment ........................................................ 79 Review of Studies on Romanian Adoptions ........................................................................... 91 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 91 Health problems ............................................................................................................... 93 Developmental concerns ............................................................................................... 100 Attachment concerns ..................................................................................................... 116 Mental and behavioral health ....................................................................................... 130 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 170 Current Study ............................................................................................................................ 170 Research Questions and Hypotheses ..................................................................................... 171 Summary of Rationales for Hypotheses ................................................................................ 172 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................... 177 Institutional Review Board ........................................................................................... 177 Definition of Concepts .................................................................................................. 177 Study Population ............................................................................................................ 179 Study Design .................................................................................................................. 180 Samples (Adoptive Parent and Adoptee) .................................................................... 180 3 Dependent, Independent and Control Variables ........................................................ 185 Measures ......................................................................................................................... 185 Adult transitions ............................................................................................. 185 Markers of Adulthood ...................................................................... 185 Markers Importance .......................................................................... 186 Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA).... 187 Adult attachment ............................................................................................ 189 Pre-adoption history data .............................................................................. 190 Social and demographic characteristics .....................................................