1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This study is the first to examine the demographic characteristics and behavior problems of Inuit children adopted following traditional practices in a general population sample of Inuit school-age children.» (p. 251)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«We hypothesized that, although some traditional adoptions may lead to legal proceedings by Youth Protective Services, adoption per se is not associated with higher rate of behavioral problems at school age in Inuit children.» (p. 251)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The participants were school-age Inuit children from Nunavik, an Arctic region located north of the 55th parallel in the province of Quebec. All of the children participated in the Nunavik Child Development Study[.] The final sample consisted of 46 adopted and 231 nonadopted children.» (p. 251-252)

Instruments :
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Before adjustment for potential confounding variables, the data suggested that the adopted children exhibited a higher incidence of externalizing problems in the classroom. However,
our regression analyses showed that the group differences were attributable primarily to socioenvironmental influences such as poorer caregivers’ nonverbal reasoning ability and in utero exposure to tobacco. Thus, customary adoption in Inuit communities per se is not a risk factor for the development of attention or externalizing and internalizing problems in a general population sample of school-age children. Although adopted children were twice as likely to have been born to mothers less than 20 years of age, they were similar to nonadopted children with regard to birth weight and duration of gestation. […] Our results indicate substantial differences in the home environments in which the adopted and nonadopted children lived. The adopted children were raised by older and less educated caregivers, who were more likely to be dependent on public assistance and to be single (separated, divorced, or widowed). However, they were less likely to live in families experiencing maternal depressive mood, family violence, alcohol consumption, and household crowding.» (p. 255-256)