Jana Kreppner

The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study constituted an invaluable "natural experiment" in which there was a rapid, easily-timed transition from a profoundly depriving environment in Romanian institutions to generally well-functioning adoptive families in England. Multimodal methods of assessment were used throughout the assessments at 4, 6, 11, and 15 years of age. Four key findings were particularly striking. First, institutional deprivation was associated with an apparently deprivation-specific pattern of combinations of quasiautism, disinhibited attachment, cognitive impairment, and inattention/overactivity. Second, longitudinal growth curves showed a relative deceleration of growth between 11 and 15 years (possibly due to early puberty). Third, institutional deprivation without subnutrition was associated with a major impairment in head growth. Fourth, the effects of institutional deprivation were as strong at 15 years as they had been earlier in childhood.

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This groundbreaking volume exposes the systematic violence embedded within the UK's asylum system as experienced by unaccompanied children and young people. Drawing on innovative participatory research methodology, the authors reveal how 'hostile environment' policies create devastating 'tipping points' that transform bureaucratic processes into acts of structural violence. Through rigorous legal analysis and compelling empirical evidence, this essential text challenges readers to confront the profound human cost of hostile immigration policy while offering concrete strategies for trauma-informed reform. It is an urgent call for systemic change that will resonate with academics, policy makers and practitioners across law, social work, migration studies and human rights.