LONDON, May 17 (UPI) -- A study of children from Romania, many malnourished as well as severely physically and psychologically delayed, found those adopted did progress.
A study published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development finds that despite having spent at least 7.5 years in their U.S. and European adoptive homes and having had six years of schooling, the early experiences of profound institutional deprivation continue to exert marked adverse effects on the children's IQ even at age 11.
The researchers, from King's College and the University of Southampton in England, New York University and the University of Rochester Medical Center, have followed the Romanian institutionalized orphaned children since adoption.
Earlier studies found the children showed a remarkable degree of developmental catch-up by age 4 or 6, although a minority of children had persisting deficits.
