Abstract
A total of 149 children, who spent an average of 13.8 months in Russian institutions, were transferred to Russian families of relatives and nonrelatives at an
average age of 24.7 months. After residing in these families for at least 1 year (average ¼ 43.2 months), parents reported on their attachment, indiscriminately
friendly behavior, social–emotional competencies, problem behaviors, and effortful control when they were 1.5–10.7 years of age. They were compared to a
sample of 83 Russian parents of noninstitutionalized children, whom they had reared from birth. Generally, institutionalized children were rated similarly
to parent-reared children on most measures, consistent with substantial catch-up growth typically displayed by children after transitioning to families. However,
institutionalized children were rated more poorly than parent-reared children on certain competencies in early childhood and some attentional skills. There
were relatively few systematic differences associated with age at fam