Researchers Investigating Various Aspects of International Adoption

Dana Johnson, MD, PhD

is director of the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota. His research interests are the health status of international adoptees on arrival and short and long-term effects of institutional care on physical growth and cognitive development. He is also dad to an internationally adopted daughter.

International Adoption Clinic

The University of Minnesota

Hospital and Clinic

Box 211

420 Delaware Street SE

Minneapolis, MN 55455

For information call:

Dana Johnson, MD, PhD

(612) 626 2928

To view a document authored by Dr. Johnson entitled "Adopting an Institutionalized Child: What are the Risks?", please Click Here!

Dr. Jane Aronson

is a researcher and clinician at Winthrop-University Hospital, Mineola, New York. To read her abstract entitled "Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect in Pre-adoption Evalustions of Children in Russian Orphanages", Click Here!

Christian Solidarity International

is an organization who investigated the orphanages of the Soviet Union with regards to their living conditions and allegations of abuse. To read a synopsis of their report entitled Trajectories of Despair (which provides some answers to the ubiquitous "oligophrenia" diagnosis seen in referrals to potential adoptive parents), Click Here!

For additional information, please visit Christian Solidarity International

Elinor Ames, PhD

is a developmental psychologist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. She and her research team studied 115 Canadian families who had adopted Romanian children. Some were from orphanages; some came directly from birth families. This study focused on attachment status, behavior, intelligence and developmental status. Parental stress was also investigated. They were evaluated at two points in time: at Time 1 they had been in their homes approximately 11 months; at Time 2, a median of 39 months. To view the recommendation from her pioneering study, Click Here! To view the results on medical, behavior, and social problems, Click here

To request a copy of this study, please contact Dr. Elinor Ames

Barbara Morse, PhD

is assistant research professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Fetal Alcohol Education Program, Boston University School of Medicine. She has worked to understand and treat developmentally at-risk children since 1982. Dr. Morse conducts research and education aimed at identifying women at risk and prevention and treatment of FAS. Current research includes studies understanding the factors influencing the diagnosis of FAS, examining specific developmental disorders in chiren with FAS/FAE, and understanding attitudes toward addiction. She has published numerous papers on aolcohol related birth defects and the treatment of alcohol affected chldren as well as a handbook for parents of children with FAS.

Fetal Alcohol Education Program,

Boston University School of Medicine

Hospital and Clinic

Research Assistant Professor/Program Director

MED Psychiatry 7 Kent Street

Boston, MA

For information call:

Barbara Morse, PhD

(617) 739-1424

e-mail: Barbara Morse, PhD

Laurie Miller, MD

is director of the International Adoption clinic at the Floating Hospital for Children, New England Medical Center (one of two clinics specializing in the evaluation of internationally adopted children). She has extensive experience as a pediatrician in Egypt, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. She has authored many articles on the topics of international child health and international adoption. She is also a member of the International Child Health subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is chairperson of its task force on institutionalized children. To have your child evaluated (either pre-adoptive records/videos or post-adoption) call (617) 636 8388.

Kathryn Ballou, MSN, RN

is a clinical instructor at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, and a doctoral student at the University of Kansas. Kathryn became interested in international adoption issues in 1996 after adopting and subsequently relinquishing a severely damaged child from Romania. Her experiences as a parent over the course of the year led her to investigate not only the problems of internationally adopted children, but the responses of parents. In her search for a "label" for the experiences and feelings, as well as ways to assist other parents, she developed a hypothesis: Preparedness and reciprocity are related to effective parental coping in adoption of international orphans. Kathryn would also like to investigate the relationship of these concepts with that of chronic sorrow in these parents.

Kathryn A. Ballou, MSN, RN

University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Nursing

2220 Holmes

Kansas City, MO 64108

816-235-5609

e-mail: Kathryn A. Ballou, MSN, RN

Dr. Megan Gunnar

at the Child Development Institute at the University of Minnesota is examining salivary cortisol levels of adoptees from Romania in conjunction with the study done by Dr. Elinor Ames in British Columbia. Salivary cortisol samples are being gathered at three points in the day over 3 days to examine the circadian patterning of cortisol levels in Romanian adoptees. The three time points are wakeup, noon, and 30 minutes before bedtime. The cortisol data (a biobehavioral measure of stress) will be examined in relation to the cognitive and social data that Dr. Ames and her students have collected on these children.

email Dr. Megan Gunnar .

To read about Dr. Gunnar's current research project on international adoption, go to:http://icd.coled.umn.edu/IAP/

Sharon Glennen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

is a speech-language pathologist on the faculty of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. After adopting two toddler-aged children from Russia, she became interested in the language acquisition process for post-institutionalized orphans who lose their native language and have to acquire a new first language. Dr. Glennen is studying language development patterns of children adopted internationally in hopes of developing professional guidelines for determining "normal" language development from patterns that signify language delays or disorders. In collaboration with her colleague, M. Gay Masters, Ph.D., she is currently studying the language development of children adopted from eastern europe who ages 0 to 36 months of age and plans to follow the children longitudinally through early school-age. The survey can be located on the web site for the Eastern European Adoption Coalition at http://www.eeadopt.org. For more information, email Dr. Glennen at sglennen@towson.edu

Dr. Harry Chugani,

neuroscientist at Wayne State University, is studying critical periods of human brain development. His research team uses positron emission tomography technology in humans complemented by autoradiographic techniques of various measures (glucose metabolism, protein synthesis, receptors) in various animal models. They have found that changes in glucose metabolic rates parallel synaptogenesis and outline a critical period of developmental plasticity. Dr. Chugani and his team have recently turned their attention to the study of the effects of an impoverished early environment on brain functional activity as related to neuropsychological measures. This work was chronicled on the ABC Turning Point show on Romanian adoptees that aired on January 16, 1997. Dr. Chugani can be reached at

e-mail: Dr. Harry Chugani.

Dr. Sharon Cermak,

professor of Occupational Therapy at Boston University, is conducting a research project designed to examine the incidence of sensory integration dysfunction in internationally adopted children from Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. This study will examine the Sensory Integration and Praxi Tests performance of adoptees who had spent at least 18 months in an orphanage. These children will be compared to another group of children who have spent four months or less in an orphanage. Participants in this study will need to have been in their new adoptive homes for at least one year. This study will be conducted with families who live in the Northeast. Please contact Dr. Cermak or Susan Lin at Boston University if you would like to participate. The phone number is 617 353-7520.

e-mail: Dr. Sharon Cermak.

Margot Mahan M.A., (a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology)

Margot Mahan has recently completed data collection on a study using Theraplay to promote attachment in post-institutionalized children. Data is being analyzed in her study. For further information about the study, contact her at

Margot Mahan M.A.
e mail: Mayhem999@aol.com
Fax: 630-876-9220

Theraplay Institute
e mail: theraplay@aol.com
Fax: 847-256-7370
phone: 847-256-7334

Rebecca Nelson,

Clinical and research interests include assessment of developmental strengths and weaknesses as well as needs of ex-institutionalized infants and children. She is principal investigator of a study investigating the developmental status of newly adopted Chinese infant girls. Mental, motor, and speech and language skills are being assessed upon arrival with a follow-up six months later to determine the rate of catch-up. A third follow-up study is also in process at DePaul. Ms. Nelson's study was recently cited in the Chicago Sun Times and as an intercountry adoptee herself has given talks to local adoption agencies and participates as a panel member for open discussions with prospective adoptive and adoptive parents. She can be contacted at kimsn@home.com.

Emory University's Divisions Pediatric Endocrinology and Developmental Pediatrics

Researchers at Emory University's Divisions Pediatric Endocrinology and Developmental Pediatrics, are conducting a survey to study the growth and development of children from orphanages. According to their site: "We know that maternal deprivation, neglect and severe malnutrition in the early lives of these children put them at greater risk for growth failure and developmental delays in the early years. However, little is known about long-term growth and development of these children. Individual reports suggest that these children experience long-term growth failure, continued developmental delays and abnormalities related to the onset of puberty. Visit their website at http://www.emory.edu/PEDS/ENDO/orphan/

Dr. Josephine Ruggiero

PhD, Professor of Sociology at University of Rhode Island has a new book entitled: Eastern European Adoption: Policies, Practice, and Strategies for Change available through Aldine publishers, based on her research of international adoption.  It is available at  http://www.transactionpub.com/cgi-bin/transactionpublishers.storefront/en/Product/0-2-2-30976-2.

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