Background: Children and adolescents in residential care have more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) than those living in any other type of care. However, there is scant research on risk factors accounting for this accumulation. Objective: To establish the prevalence of ACEs in child residential care and to explore predictors of accumulation…

There is no relationship more vital than the one a child shares with their primary caregivers early in development. Yet many children worldwide are raised in settings that lack the warmth, connection, and stimulation provided by a responsive primary caregiver. In this study, we used data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), a…

Exposure to early psychosocial deprivation as a result of institutional care disrupts typical brain development. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) is the first longitudinal study to investigate the neurodevelopment of institutionalized infants randomized to a foster care (FCG) intervention versus care as usual (CAUG). Here, we…

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing,…

We set out to explore the meaning of the attachment categories in the Cassidy/Marvin strange situation procedure, as employed in the home, using data from a longitudinal study of children adopted into UK families up to the age of 42 months from Romanian institutions, and of adopted children without the experience of institutional care--both groups…

This study examined classifications of attachment in 42-month-old Romanian children (N = 169). Institutionalized since birth, children were assessed comprehensively, randomly assigned to care as usual (CAU) or to foster care, and compared to family-reared children. Attachment classifications for children in foster care were markedly different from…

Objective: To examine the impact of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) val[superscript 158]met allele on depressive symptoms in young children exposed to early severe social deprivation as a result of being raised in institutions. Methods: One hundred thirty six children from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) were randomized…

Provides a personal account of a British tutor's experiences with children at a state-run orphanage in Rumania, focusing on emotional reactions of the tutor and the children. Describes a cooperative project to provide the children with materials for play and learning activities, and discusses changes in orphanage practices after the project. (AC)