Jesús Palacios

Review: Adoption research: Trends, topics, outcomes:

The current article provides a review of adoption research since its inception as a field of study. Three historical trends in adoption research are identified: the first focusing on risk in adoption and identifying adoptee—nonadoptee differences in adjustment; the second examining the capacity of adopted children to recover from early adversity; and the third focusing on biological, psychosocial, and contextual factors and processes underlying variability in adopted children’s adjustment. Suggestions for future areas of empirical investigation are offered, with an emphasis on the need to integrate research, policy, and practice.

Predicting Process Quality from Structural Quality in Preschool Programs: A Cross-Country Comparison.

Abstract In this cross-national study, the relations between structural and process quality in preschool classrooms are examined and compared across four countries—Germany (n = 82), Portugal ( n = 80), Spain ( n = 55), and the United States ( n = 288). Process quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale and the Caregiver Interaction Scale. Structural quality variables include classroom, center, wage, and regional characteristics. A MANOVA found differences in levels of structural variables used in the different countries. Hierarchical regression, in which blocks of structural variables were entered according to their relative proximity to process quality, indicated that despite the diversity of the national systems, many of the same structural features have an impact on process quality. However, no one consistently powerful predictor of process quality was found, and there was no single block of variables with an overwhelming influence. The findings are viewed in terms of possibilities for improving process quality through manipulation of structural characteristics.

Comparisons of Observed Process Quality in Early Child Care and Education Programs in Five Countries.

In this cross-national study, observed process quality in preschool classrooms was compared across five countries—Austria (n = 37), Germany (n=103), Portugal (n=88), Spain (n=80), and the U.S.A. (n=390). Process quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and the Caregiver Interaction Scale (CIS). Both instruments had comparable properties when used in the different countries. A MANOVA found overall ECERS differences between countries, with Austria and Germany scoring higher than Spain, and Austria higher than the U.S.A. CIS Sensitivity scale differences showed Austria and Spain with higher scores than the U.S.A. Tests of homogeneity of variance showed U.S.A. with the highest standard deviations. A discriminant analysis, using countries as groups and ECERS items as criterion variables, revealed differences between countries on two discriminant functions: Personalized Care and Availability and Use of Space and Play Materials. Results are discussed in terms of the early childhood traditions and infrastructures found in the five countries.

Growth and development in internationally adopted children: extent and timing of recovery after early adversity

BACKGROUND Following initial adversity, internationally adopted children arrive with significant growth and developmental delays. Post-placement recovery has been widely documented, but little has been known about its extent and timing several years after placement and in children with diverse pre-adoptive experiences. METHODS A total of 289 children adopted from six countries into Spanish families were studied. Growth and psychological development were considered on arrival and after an average of over 3 years. RESULTS Growth and developmental initial delays affected a substantial percentage of the children. Post-adoption recovery seemed quicker and more complete in weight and height than in head circumference and psychological development. Initial and later values were correlated, but growth-development relation on arrival subsequently lost significance. Most of the catch-up happened in the first three post-adoption years. CONCLUSION Adoption offers an impressive opportunity for recovery after previous adversity, although continuity between past and present persists. The improvement is more marked in some areas than in others and more substantial in the first post-adoption years.

Mixed Methods in International Collaborative Research: The Experiences of the International Study of Parents, Children, and Schools:

The power of a mixed-methods approach combining anthropological and psychological theories and methods is demonstrated through the experiences of the International Study of Parents, Children, and Schools, a collaborative project involving teams of researchers from seven Western countries. The developmental niche framework of Super and Harkness proved useful for integrating multiple methods to understand the context of children’s early development at home and at school. Several parts of the study are presented as illustrations: the development and application of a common list of descriptors for coding parents’ discourse about their children; the construction of a derived etic form of a child temperament questionnaire; the discovery and exploration of ideas and practices related to parent-child co-sleeping; and the identification of cultural themes across various kinds of data. The authors conclude that a combination of anthropological and psychological methods can enrich understanding of children’s development in various cultural settings.

Family context for emotional recovery in internationally adopted children

English The context for emotional recovery was analysed in 30 Spanish parents adopting from Russia and a comparison group. The adopted children’s attachment disorders improved significantly after adoption. Adoptive parents showed a more sophisticated and optimistic reflective functioning about their children and their parenting experience. French Le contexte du rétablissement affectif a été analysé chez 30 couples de parents espagnols adoptant des enfants en provenance de Russie et comparé avec celui d’un groupe témoin. Les troubles de l’attachement chez les enfants adoptés se sont améliorés significativement après l’adoption. Les parents adoptifs ont montré un des capacités de réflexion plus sophistiquées et optimistes à propos de leurs enfants et de leur expérience d’éducation. Spanish El contexto de la recuperación emocional se analizó en 30 adoptantes en Rusia y en un grupo de comparación. Los trastornos de apego mejoraron de forma significativa tras la adopción. Los adoptantes mostraron una visión más sofisticada y optimista de sus hijos y de su propia experiencia como padres.

Instituciones para niños: ¿protección o riesgo?

Resumen Los datos y las conclusiones del artículo de Fernández, Álvarez y Bravo (2003) son aquí discutidos, ofreciéndose algunas explicaciones e interpretaciones alternativas. Se sugiere que la muestra estudiada tal vez refleje mejor el pasado que el presente de la institucionalización. Se propone limitar al mínimo el papel del acogimiento residencial en el sistema de protección y esforzarse en mejorar seriamente las condiciones institucionales para aquellos chicos y chicas para los que la institución sea la única alternative

Culture, Temperament, and the “Difficult Child”: A Study in Seven Western Cultures

Charles M. Super1, Giovanna Axia2, Sara Harkness1, Barbara Welles-Nyström3, Piotr Olaf Zylicz4, Parminder Parmar5, Sabrina Bonichini2, Moisés Rios Bermúdez6, Ughetta Moscardino2, Violet Kolar7, Jesús Palacios6, Andrzej Eliasz4, and Harry McGurk7 1University of Connecticut, USA 2University of Padua, Italy 3Karolinska Institute, Sweden 4Warsaw School of Social Psychology, Poland 5The Pennsylvania State University, USA 6University of Seville, Spain 7Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia

Evaluación de los contextos familiars y extrafamiliares en los años preescolares: escalas HOME y ECERS

ResumenEn la investigacion que se preocupa por analizar los determinantes del desarrollo, los investigadores ponen frecuentemente su atencion en las variables que afectan a la vida de los ninos a traves de las caracteristicas sociodemograficas de los padres (nivel educativo, profesion, sexo, etc.), y en los detalles mas intrincados de las interacciones entre adulto y nino. Siendo esos dos niveles de analisis importantes, existe aun un tercer nivel que tiene tambien el maximo interes: el estudio de las caracteristicas de los entornos en los que los ninos pasan su vida cotidiana. En el presente trabajo se aborda ese nivel de analisis y se presentan las escalas HOME y ECERS, que evaluan respectivamente la calidad de los contextos familiar y preescolar. Se presentan las caracteristicas de ambas escalas, algunos ejemplos de su utilizacion en la investigacion evolutiva y una valoracion critica de cada una de ellas. Ademas, se sugieren vias para situar estos instrumentos en el contexto de otras herramientas de i...

Diferencias entre las expectativas y valores de madres y educadores de niños preescolares españoles

ResumenLa mayor parte de las investigaciones sobre desarrollo y educacion se han realizado sobre padres o sobre maestros. Son muy escasos los estudios que comparan las ideas sostenidas por ambos grupos. Con el objetivo de comparar las ideas de madres y educadores sobre distintos aspectos relacionados con el desarrollo y educacion, se llevo a cabo un estudio sobre una muestra nacional de 800 educadores preescolares y 800 madres de ninos de edades comprendidas entre los 2 y los 6 anos. En este articulo se presentan los resultados relativos a expectativas y valores. En relacion a las expectativas evolutivas, y en terminos generales, las madres mostraron una mayor precocidad que los maestros. En cuanto a los valores, las madres prefirieron aquellos que podemos considerar mas tradicionales.