Young children (N = 381) from three institutions in St Petersburg (Russian Federation) who were transitioned to intercountry (USA) adoption or to various domestic families in Russia did not differ in birth weight, length, head circumference, and rated condition at birth, nor did they differ upon departure from the institutions with respect to physical growth and behavioral development. These results provide little support to the occasional allegation for the possibility that intercountry adopted children are selected to be developmentally more (or less) advanced, or that outcomes for children in alternative family placements simply may be associated with pre-placement developmental differences. The generality of these results to other institutions and countries is unknown.