Attachment‐based intervention in adoptive families in infancy and children's development at age 7: Two follow‐up studies

In the present study we examined the longitudinal effects of an early attachment-based intervention on children's social development, personality development, and incidence of behaviour problems at age 7. The behaviourally focused intervention was carried out in families with internationally, transracially adopted children placed before 6 months of age. The intervention was implemented during the child's first year of life in mixed families (i.e. adoptive families with biological children) and in all-adoptive families (i.e. adoptive families without biological children). In the small sample of mixed families (N = 35), we found delayed positive intervention effects at age 7 on ego-resiliency and optimal ego-control in girls, and on internalizing behaviour problems in both boys and girls. In all-adoptive families (N = 112), the intervention had been effective in changing maternal sensitive responsiveness, security of attachment, and infant exploratory competence in early childhood, but enduring intervention effects could not be traced at the child's age of 7.