Structural language, pragmatic communication, behavior, and social competence in children adopted internationally: A pilot study

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to examine the association of structural language and pragmatic communication with behavior problems and social competence in girls adopted internationally. Participants included girls between 6–12 years of age who were internationally adopted from China (n = 32) and Eastern-Europe (n = 25) and a control group of never-adopted girls (n = 25). Children completed the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Parents completed the Child Communication Checklist- second edition, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales. Compared to the controls, parents in the Eastern European group reported more problems with social competence, externalizing behaviors, structural language, and pragmatic communication. The Chinese group evidenced more internalizing problems. Using generalized linear regression, interaction terms were examined to determine if the associations of pragmatic communication and structural language with behavior problems and social competence varied across groups. Controlling for general intellectual functioning, poorer pragmatic communication was associated with more externalizing problems and poorer social competence. In the Chinese group, poorer pragmatic communication was associated with more internalizing problems. Post-adoption weaknesses in pragmatic communication are associated with behavior problems and social competence. Internationally adopted children may benefit from interventions that target pragmatic communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Communicative disorders-speech
• international adoption
• social competence

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the International Adoption Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for assistance with participant recruitment and financial support. We also wish to acknowledge Holly MacPherson, Karen Oberjohn, Jennifer Taylor, and Julia Smith for assistance with participant recruitment, data collection, and data entry.