FOLLOW-UP OF PSYCHIATRIC AND EDUCATIONAL MORBIDITY AMONG ADOPTED-CHILDREN

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate longitudinally the strength of association between adoptive status and psychiatric and e ducational morbidity and substance use. Method: This study makes use o f data from the 1983 Ontario Child Health Study and 1987 follow-up. Th is community survey of children (4- to 16-years-old in 1983, 8- to 20- years-old in 1987) included a subpopulation of adopted children. The p rimary outcomes measured were psychiatric disorder, poor school perfor mance, and substance use. Results: Adoption, identified in 1983, in bo ys was a significant marker for psychiatric disorder in 1987. Adoption was not a significant risk indicator for educational morbidity or sub stance use in 1987. In the multivariate analyses, adoptive status demo nstrated no independent influence on 1987 educational morbidity or sub stance use. However, adoptive status, in the presence of poor school p erformance in 1983, was a significant risk indicator for psychiatric d isorder in 1987. Conclusions: Adopted children did not do significantl y worse than nonadopted children over time in terms of educational mor bidity or substance use, but adopted boys demonstrated a significantly increased risk of psychiatric disorder versus nonadopted boys.