Longitudinal change in parenting associated with developmental delay and catch-up

The current study examined the predictors of parent-child relationship qual ity and developmental change in a sample of children adopted into the U.K. following severe early privation, and in a comparison sample of nondeprived , within-country adoptees. One hundred and fifty-eight children adopted fro m Romania and 52 U.K. adoptees were assessed at age 6 years; longitudinal d ata (age 4 and 6 years) were available on the 110 Romanian adoptees placed into U.K. homes before 24 months of age and all U.K. adoptees. Ratings of p arent-child positivity and negativity during a semistructured interaction t ask were obtained from coders who were blind to the child's background. Res ults indicated that adoptive parent-child relationship quality was related to duration of deprivation and that cognitive/developmental delay mediated this association. The magnitude of this effect was modest and diminished ov er time. Longitudinal analyses revealed that positive change in parent-chil d relationship quality was most marked among children who exhibited cogniti ve catch-up between assessments, The direction of effects appeared to be pr imarily child to parent. The findings underscore the need for further resea rch on the long-term impact of early experiences on psychosocial developmen t.