International Adoption Research Articles

First-language interference without bilingualism? Evidence from second language vowel production in international adoptees

Abstract The ability to acquire the speech sounds of a second language has consistently been found to be constrained with increasing age of acquisition. Such constraints have been explained either through cross-linguistic influence in bilingual speakers or as the result of maturational declines in neural plasticity with age. Here, we disentangle these two explanations by investigating speech production in adults who were adopted from China to Sweden as toddlers, lost their first language, and became monolingual speakers of the second language. Although we find support for predictions based on models of bilingual language acquisition, these results cannot be explained by the bilingual status of the learners, indicating instead a long-term influence of early specialization for speech that is independent of bilingual language use. These findings are discussed in light of first-language interference and the theory of maturational constraints for language acquisition.

Permanently infertile couples and family building-a cross-sectional survey in Denmark.

Which decision-making factors influence family building among permanently infertile couples? Ethical, legal, and financial considerations outweigh genetic relatedness in decision-making, favouring domestic gestational surrogacy, if this were possible, over international options. Permanent infertility affects 4-5% of people in the fertile age. Their family-building options include adoption, surrogacy, uterus transplantation, foster care, and intentional multiple parenthood. However, in most countries, including Denmark, legal barriers constrain these methods due to surrogacy restrictions, suspended international adoptions, and the experimental status of uterus transplantation. Despite existing research on surrogacy, adoption, and specific causes of permanent infertility, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how couples with permanent infertility make family-building decisions within these limited frameworks. This cross-sectional study with 150 permanently infertile Danish participants was conducted from June to November 2023 using an online questionnaire. Multiple strategies, such as online forums, fertility clinics, hospital departments, and snowballing, were used to recruit a diverse sample. The study included couples aged 26-50 years facing permanent infertility due to the following primary causes: women without a uterus (15%), women with a non-functional uterus (47%) or women for whom pregnancy would be life-threatening (9%), male couples (16%), transgender partner couples (2%), and other causes (11%). The survey collected data on demographics, reproductive history, family-building choices, and communication strategies. Closed questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. Among 150 respondents, 41% had used transnational surrogacy, 27% adoption, 14% chose to remain childless, and 19% were undecided. Critical factors on family-building decisions were ethical, legal, and financial concerns which ranked higher than genetic relatedness. Despite the complexity of family building, most participants were open about their child's origin and received social support. If all family-building methods were legal and available in Denmark, domestic gestational surrogacy would be the preferred method, with uterus transplantation and remaining childless being least popular. The sample size is relatively small, despite the use of a variety of recruitment strategies. Nevertheless, this has ensured a diverse cohort representing the different reasons for infertility and family-building choices. It is important to note that the strategies may have favoured individuals achieving parenthood. The finding of our study reveals a notable gap between available family-building options in Denmark and the preferences of couples facing permanent infertility. These insights could be instrumental for organizations reviewing and developing family-building frameworks. Furthermore, for healthcare professionals guiding couples experiencing infertility issues in their attempts to build a family, an understanding of these preferences is essential to facilitate informed decisions about their future family plans. The project was financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. N/A.

A - 75 Clarifying the Complex: International Adoptees as Exemplars of Culturally-Informed Neuropsychological Assessment

Abstract Objective School-age international adoptees are underrepresented in the literature despite their unique cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. The lack of representative norms paired with reduced cultural exposure in the United States requires special consideration from the neuropsychologist. This case report of an internationally adopted child with cerebral palsy illuminates the varying responsiveness of measures to changing levels of acculturation, language acquisition, and educational intervention. Method Patient was adopted at age 10 from China. He experienced lifelong institutionalization and limited formal education; he was illiterate at time of adoption. Brain MRI was consistent with his diagnosis of diplegic cerebral palsy (GMFCS Level I). Beginning approximately one year after adoption, he underwent three neuropsychological evaluations over five years. Testing accommodations to support language, behavior, and executive functioning were provided across evaluations. Results Patient’s initial neuropsychological evaluation demonstrated below age expectation performance across nearly all domains of cognitive functioning. Subsequent evaluations evidenced notable improvements across language, memory, mood, behavior, and adaptive functioning, with many areas revealing age appropriate abilities. Improvements across domains commonly affected by cerebral palsy were more limited, and academics were a longstanding, refractory area of difficulty. Conclusions Traditional administration and interpretation of neuropsychological measures can have difficulty characterizing the cognitive skills of medically involved, international adoptees. Thoughtful measure selection, administration, and interpretation are needed to differentiate underlying ability from performance. Interpreting assessment data can be challenging due to dynamic levels of language acquisition, academic proficiency, and acculturation. Rate of skill acquisition/development across multiple evaluations may be a better indicator of underlying ability than normative comparisons.

Translating Inter-country Adoption as Transcultural Communication

This article attempts to explore transcultural communication through the translated version of “Inter-country Adoption” of the National Civil Code, 2017 ( the Muluki Dewani Samhita) Ain, 2074 BS). It observes the “Hague Adoption Convention, 1993” principles and the Manu’s idea of dharmaputra (adopted sob) mentioned in the “Manusmriti”, the law of Hindu, and its influence on the formation of adoption law in Nepal. The primary purpose of Nepali legal translation is to transfer Nepali legal culture for global communication. The cultural theory of translation developed by Lawrence Venuti and Marry Snell-Hornby and the equivalence theory of Eugene Nida and Peter Newmark are were used as the theoretical base for the study. The significance of this study is to the parents waiting for inter-country adoption and to the university students who have taken translation studies as their major subject. This article concludes that legal translation in Nepal is a strategy to deliver Nepali legal culture to the globe and vice versa.

Social Competence, School Engagement, and School Performance Among US Children Adopted Through Private Domestic, International, and Foster Care Adoption

We examined social competence, learning-related disorders, and school engagement in relation to grade point average (GPA) among three groups of children adopted by heterosexual and same-sex couples: 84 adopted privately, 29 internationally, and 20 from foster care. Structural equation modeling showed that increased school engagement predicts higher GPA, increased social competence predicts higher GPA via increased school engagement, and learning-related disorders predict lower GPA directly and via lower school engagement. Learning-related disorders had an equivalent or larger impact on GPA among children adopted privately than internationally or from foster care, potentially because diagnoses were made later. Learning needs should be considered regardless of adoption type.

Nordic biogas model in international contexts: Early-stage decision support for adaptation.

Global waste management challenges demand innovative and multi-functional solutions. The Nordic Biogas Model (NBM) based on anaerobic digestion of organic waste and valorization of its outputs provides several benefits beyond waste treatment such as energy recovery, nutrient recycling and climate impact mitigation. Despite these benefits, its international adoption remains limited, revealing an implementation gap. One way to address this gap is to adapt technology and knowledge from the provider to each specific context. This involves the embedding of the technology into the local context and the development of conditions such as formal and informal institutions over time. Based on decade-long interactions with Nordic companies and municipal decision-makers, we highlight the importance of communication between the technology provider and potential adopter, to ensure that the diverse sustainability benefits of NBM are acknowledged. Furthermore, most provider companies can benefit from a systematic guideline that supports early-stage decision-making as an essential component of the adaptation and implementation of the NBM in diverse international contexts. In this article, we offer suggestions for both: (1) how to better communicate the sustainability benefits of the NBM, and (2) how to assess the risk and opportunities of entering new markets at the early stages of decision-making.

A Lonely Position. Misrecognition and Belonging Among International Adoptees in Norway

In this article, we use the concepts of recognition and misrecognition to shed light on the subtle manifestation of othering and racism experienced by international adoptees in Norway. Our aim is to deepen understanding of identity formation and belonging among adoptees by examining recognition and misrecognition within two key contexts: encounters with strangers and interactions within the adoptive family. Strangers often perceive adoptees as immigrants or foreigners, failing to recognize their middle-class identity and their belonging to Norway. This misrecognition underscores the intertwined nature of physical appearance, class, and national belonging. Moreover, misrecognition of Norwegian identity not only symbolically separates adoptees from the nation, but also from their adoptive families, compounding the effects of misrecognition. Paradoxically, while family members unequivocally view adoptees as Norwegians, this recognition sometimes entails misrecognition of adoptees’ experiences with othering and racism in the external world, which can lead to a sense of alienation within the family. The dynamics of recognition and misrecognition, both externally and within the intimate sphere, can converge to isolate adoptees, placing them in a lonely position.

Protecting children’s rights in intercountry adoption

Protecting children’s rights in intercountry adoption

The current situation of intercountry adoption in Spain

Intercountry adoption is a young institution that, after experiencing a boom at the beginning of the 21st century is currently immersed in a period of decline. The years 2020 to 2023 have been especially notable in this matter in Spain, as a consequence of the jurisdiction conflict, resolved by STC 36/2021, as well as the COVID-19 crisis, causing China to restrict international adoption. This paper analyzes the features that have characterized intercountry adoption in its different stages and the factors that have led to its evolution, focusing on the study of the successive regulatory swings that have occurred in Spain. As a result of this study, it is observed that, beyond the current circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, this institution currently has a residual weight that is increasingly in line with the principle of subsidiarity, recognized by the Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

Ethical Challenges for Plastic Surgery in Treating Internationally Adopted Children With Cleft Lip and Palate.

A large number of children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) were adopted to Sweden in the last decade, mainly from China. Most of the children arrived with unoperated palates and at later ages than earlier years. This article aims to present an overview of ethical challenges within the practice of international adoption of children with CLP from the perspective of plastic surgery in a welfare health care system. An overview of CLP treatment is presented, followed by a normative discussion and ethical analysis using the 4 principles of Beauchamp and Childress: non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. The following themes and subthemes were analyzed: the search for normality and the potential challenge of being adopted and having CLP-treatment autonomy of the child and future preferences, adoptive parents' expectations of plastic surgery, the journey of the adoptee and the adoptive parents; and general issues-reconstructive possibilities and consequences of CLP in the country of origin, information to the adoptive parents, health care needs, and reconstructive possibilities for children with CLP in the receiving country. Clinical implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Legislative and Criminological Problems of Intercountry Adoption of Kazakhstani Children

Legislative and Criminological Problems of Intercountry Adoption of Kazakhstani Children

The romantic relationships of adopted adolescents.

There is a gap in the literature on the romantic relationships of adopted adolescents. To address this issue, the present study has three aims: (1) to explore differences between adopted and non-adopted adolescents in terms of their involvement in and the length of their romantic relationships; (2) to explore the quality of these relationships; and (3) to analyze associations between affective relationships and well-being in both groups. The sample comprised 276 adopted (64.5% girls; mean age 16.3 years, 73.9% international adoptees) and 276 non-adopted (48.3% girls; mean age 16.3 years) adolescents, all of whom participated in the Spanish Health Behaviour in School-aged Childrensurvey. Similar romantic relationship rates and lengths were found among adoptees and non-adoptees, as well as between international and domestic adoptees. Adoptees reported more emotional support and conflicts in their romantic relationships than their non-adopted peers. Finally, associations between the quality of the romantic relationships and well-being were similar for both groups, with more conflicts being linked to lower levels of well-being, and more emotional support and affection correlating with higher levels of well-being. The data suggest more similarities than differences between adopted and non-adopted adolescents. However, although this indicates that romantic relationships are yet another example of recovery for adopted boys and girls, further research is required, with larger and more diverse samples from multiple countries, to explore the differences observed in more detail.

Irregular adoptions in the Ethiopian-Spanish context: Strategies to redress the adoption triad

In 2018, the Ethiopian government banned intercountry adoptions due to detected irregularities. This paper draws from the experiences of Spanish adoptive families, providing evidence of these irregularities and other abuses substantiated by adoptive families during their “search for origins” or reconnection with their children’s birth families. We argue that these searches and contacts within the adoptive triad represent informal reparative initiatives among Spanish adoptive families.

Усыновление детей и молодежи в международном публичном и международном частном праве

The article deals with topical issues of adoption of children and youth in international public and private international law. It is noted that nowadays the cases of international adoptions of children and youth are becoming more and more widespread. Such factors of modern reality as forced migration caused by armed conflicts, increase in the number of orphans, as well as the activities of specialized adoption agencies have contributed to the development of the institution of intercountry adoption.

Deprived of Adoptive Parenthood: Recognizing Prospective Adoptive Mothers’ Pre-Adoption Loss

This study examined the pre-adoption loss experienced by prospective adoptive mothers following an undesired termination of an intercountry adoption process before the child was placed in the adoptive home. The qualitative data comprised six narrative interviews with women with experience of pre-adoption loss. Based on an abductive analysis of the six cases, a typology of pre-adoption loss is proposed. The differences across the three types presented, are related to the reason for termination of the process, the expectedness and graduality of the loss, the sense of control and outcome in terms of parenthood. Further the dominant emotions and the social responses to the loss are examined. In practice, professionals need to recognize pre-adoption losses and offer appropriate counseling and support.

Developing a Common Global Baseline for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening.

Nucleic acid synthesis is a powerful tool that has revolutionized the life sciences. However, the misuse of synthetic nucleic acids could pose a serious threat to public health and safety. There is a need for international standards for nucleic acid synthesis screening to help prevent the misuse of this technology. We outline current barriers to the adoption of screening, which include the cost of developing screening tools and resources, adapting to existing commercial practices, internationalizing screening, and adapting screening to benchtop nucleic acid synthesis devices. To address these challenges, we then introduce the Common Mechanism for DNA Synthesis Screening, which was developed in consultation with a technical consortium of experts in DNA synthesis, synthetic biology, biosecurity, and policy, with the aim of addressing current barriers. The Common Mechanism software uses a variety of methods to identify sequences of concern, identify taxonomic best matches to regulated pathogens, and identify benign genes that can be cleared for synthesis. Finally, we describe outstanding challenges in the development of screening practices. The Common Mechanism is a step toward ensuring the safe and responsible use of synthetic nucleic acids. It provides a baseline capability that overcomes challenges to nucleic acid synthesis screening and provides a solution for broader international adoption of screening practices. The Common Mechanism is a valuable tool for preventing the misuse of synthetic nucleic acids. It is a critical step toward ensuring the safe and responsible use of this powerful technology.

KUḺANTAI TATTEṬUPPUT TOṬARPĀṈA CAṬṬA NIYĀYAVIYAL ORU VARALĀṞṞUP PAKUPPĀYVU [THE JURISPRUDENCE OF CHILD ADOPTATION: A HISTORICAL REVIEW

Child adoption has been a longstanding practice in several legal traditions throughout human history. The national progression of child adoption has influenced the corresponding legislative modifications. Examining the Legal Framework of Child Adoption within the Context of Jurisprudence This article provides a historical analysis of the progression toward different legal frameworks. The qualitative examination of pertinent literature is predicated on investigating its content. Both individual countries and international organizations are actively engaged in developing legal frameworks that infringe upon children's rights and compromise their best interests. The adoption laws rooted in the penal code within the common law system have limited efficacy in mitigating instances of child abuse. In addition, international declarations, treaties, legal actions, and established norms protect the rights and interests of adopted children. Utilizing these tools is particularly noteworthy within the context of the intercountry adoption procedure. The legal laws pertaining to adoption have undergone significant development in various aspects, including the criteria for adopter eligibility, the requirement of adopter permission, the determination of adoptive family rights, and the establishment of support obligations.

Having children in cross-border contexts: late-family formation among homoparental families in Spain.

Considered until recently unfit to rear children, non-heterosexual people have been excluded from forming families in most countries. Many, worldwide, demand access to family formation, claiming the same aptitudes as heterosexual people for raising children. However, when non-heterosexual singles and couples want to become parents in Spain, they must consider transnational contexts, resorting to inter-country adoption or surrogacy abroad, processes that contribute to delay their family formation. They must consider not only Spanish sociocultural conditions, but other countries' legal restrictions regarding parents' gender, social status, and sexual identity. These families experience great difficulty in gaining access to reproductive health services. Based on multi-site ethnographic fieldwork, this text addresses how, despite legislative changes allowing homoparental family formation in Spain, these parents must overcome complex bureaucratic processes when they decide to have children, while facing homophobic attitudes and policies in their quests to become parents.

해외입양절차에서 나타난 인권침해에 대한 해외 국가 차원의 조사와 대응 동향 연구

해외입양절차에서 나타난 인권침해에 대한 해외 국가 차원의 조사와 대응 동향 연구

Trends in Anthropometric Measurements of Internationally Adopted Children.

The objective of this study was to describe anthropometric measures from internationally adopted children. Internationally adopted children are at risk for poor growth and development and there is no standardized growth chart evaluation for internationally adopted children due to variations in growth, genetics, and environmental exposures. This is a retrospective chart review of 882 patients seen in an international adoption clinic between 2010 and 2017. Anthropometric measurements were converted to Z scores for weight, height, head circumference, and body mass index. A total of 41 countries and 16 subregions were represented. Central America, northern Africa, southern Africa, and southern Europe were the only subregions that had positive mean Z scores for weight, and southeast Asia had the lowest mean Z score for weight (n = 40, -1.76). No subregion had a positive mean Z score for height, and western Asia had the lowest overall mean Z score for height (n = 2, -2.44). Mean Z score for body mass index was positive in several subregions. Growth is an important predictor of health and development, and this study adds to the literature on growth patterns of internationally adopted children.