Gross motor development in children adopted from orphanage settings
Open accessAbstract
AIM: This study sought to examine the effect of environmental enrichment on the motor skills of children adopted from orphanage settings. We investigated balance and bilateral coordination skills in 33 internationally adopted postinstitutionalized children (16 males, 17 females; age range 8 y 5 mo-15 y 10 mo; mean age 10 y 9 mo; SD 2 y 2 mo) and compared them with 34 non-institutionalized children (21 males, 13 females; age range 8 y 3 mo-14 y 10 mo; mean age 11 y 2 mo; SD 2 y 1 mo) being raised in their birth families. METHOD: The children were individually administered the balance and bilateral coordination subtests of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency in a research laboratory. Parents completed questionnaires about developmental history, family environment, and orphanage care. RESULTS: Postinstitutionalized children showed motor system delays compared with the non-institutionalized comparison children (postinstitutionalized balance mean 9.44, SD 5.92, comparison children balance mean 14.12, SD 4.39; postinstitutionalized bilateral coordination mean 11.97, SD 5.43, comparison children mean 19.97, SD 3.97). The length of time that children remained institutionalized before adoption predicted balance delays (b=-1.57, t=-2.33, p=0.027) and the severity of caregiving deprivation the children experienced correlated with bilateral coordination (r=-0.44, p=0.013). INTERPRETATION: These findings suggest that institutionalized settings do not provide the early life experiences needed for the development of age-level motor skills later in childhood and that simple environmental enrichment following adoption is not enough to remediate skills. Children who have experienced early institutional care may benefit from early identification and targeted intervention.
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In a study of previously institutionalized children adopted from Guatemala, the majority of children were doing well developmentally.
“and in a study of previously institutionalized children adopted from Guatemala the majority of children were doing well developmentally.21”
From Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation (2014) · cites this paper as [21]
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“Such deprivation is known to affect skill acquisition negatively across a wide range of developmental areas.(1) Longer periods of institutionalization have been linked to increased difficulties in specific areas, including memory, attention, learning, and inhibitory control,(2) as well as internalizing and externalizi…”
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Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation
Levin, A. R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2014) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.09.026 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
- Authors
- ROEBER, B. J., TOBER, C. L., BOLT, D. M., & POLLAK, S. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Corresponding author
- POLLAK, SETH D
- Venue
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2012-03-13
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 527-531
- ISSN
- 0012-1622 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8749
- PMC
- PMC3439199
- OpenAlex
- W1606250865
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 8.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Waisman Center (HD03352)
- National Institutes of Health (HD033.52, MH61285)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH61285, P30-HD03352, R01MH068858, MH 68858, R01MH061285)
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD03352, HD03352)
- U.S. Children's Bureau
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P30HD03352., P30HD003352)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
- Keywords
- gross motor development, international adoption, orphanage care, balance, bilateral coordination, institutionalization, environmental enrichment, early intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adoption, Child, Developmental Disabilities, Child, Institutionalized, Postural Balance, Female, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Regression Analysis, Sensation Disorders, Severity of Illness Index, Motor Skills Disorders
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