New Study About RAD and Learning Disabilities in Internationally Adopted Kids

A new study from Finland was published  on August 9, 2011 in the journal Child: Care, Health and Development entitled “Internationally adopted children in Finland: parental evaluations of symptoms of reactive attachment disorder and learning difficulties – FINADO study.”

The abstract is as follows:

“Objective: This study investigated the association between psychological symptoms, such as features of reactive attachment disorder (RAD), and learning difficulties among international adoptees in Finland. Methods. The data for this study came from the FINnish ADOption (FINADO) study covering all internationally adopted children in Finland (n= 1450), with a response rate of 55.7%. The subsample consisted of 395 adopted children aged 9-15 (51.6% girls, 48.4% boys). Learning difficulties were evaluated by a screening questionnaire ‘Five To Fifteen’ and symptoms of RAD by FINADO RAD scale. Results The parents estimated that one-third (33.4%) of the internationally adopted children had some, and 12.7% had severe learning difficulties, i.e. three and six times more than in normal population, respectively. RAD symptoms at the time of adoption were associated with learning difficulties at school age (OR 4.57, 95% CI 2.57-8.13). Conclusions Learning difficulties are common among internationally adopted children in Finland and symptoms of RAD are associated with a child’s learning difficulties.”

We will update this post with analysis when we are able to read the full study.

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