Preadoption History Research Articles

Promoting Resilient Outcomes among Internationally Adopted Children from Child Care Institutes: Role of The Life Story

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the role of the life story in three cases of internationally adopted children in promoting resilient outcomes among these children. Methodology: The pediatric adoption clinic in the department of pediatrics in a tertiary care center facilitates the adoption of children from Government Run Child Care Institutes. The qualitative narrative methodology was used to explore how international adoptive families navigate the adoption process to improve and enhance the probability of optimal adoption outcomes. Descriptions of the qualitative interviews and discussions regarding the families’ experiences and struggles of procuring information and personal stories of the adopting children from India are presented. Verbal consent was taken from all the parents. Results: The Indian Adoption Regulations of 2017 allows for documentation and permission for sharing memory albums and interests of the child with the adoptive families. However, there are instances where the child care institutes do not maintain any records and have little to share with the families leading to feelings of grief and loss postadoption among internationally adopted children. The three families interviewed expressed a desire to maintain an association with the child’s culture and sought guidance on how they could help their adoptive children develop an ethnic identity that supports their psychological well-being. Maintaining records and chronicling the child’s biographic preadoption history is one way to help children to understand their personal stories and develop a stable identity. Conclusions: Adoption agencies and associated professionals should encourage and facilitate all activities that enhance attachment and creates emotional bonds between adoptive parents and the adoptees.

Giving voice to young adopted women of Chinese origin: Searching for origins and identity

The emerging adulthood of women adopted from China is understudied. This study aims to explore the search for origins and the adoptative and cultural identity among these girls, integrating these dimensions. A qualitative study based on grounded theory was conducted. A total of 31 young women (Mage = 21.4) participated in individual interviews. Regarding the search for origins, four categories emerged: no interest in the search for origins, initiation of the search for origins, the search for cultural origins and the search for family origins. Specifically, three-quarters of the sample initiated some form of search for family or cultural origins, with a particular emphasis on bonding with other adopted Asian girls. With respect to identity, the main categories were the preadoptive history, adoptive identity, cultural identity and ethnoracial identity. Some subcategories emerged such as the dichotomy between perceiving adoption as an act of love versus abandonment, and acceptance versus rejection of physical traits. It was more common to find girls with integrated adoptive identity and a Spanish cultural identity. Regarding the relationship between searches for origins and identity, we identified three groups, unexplored, controversial and constructed identity and origins, which ranged from no interest in the search for origins and desire for disengagement from China to the active search for origins, integrated adoptive identity or accepted ethnoracial identity. In conclusion, these results contribute to a comprehensive framework on the processes of origin search and identity construction during emerging adulthood. Significant topics emerge that should be addresses in future studies concerning the well-being of these women, such as the interpretation of adoption as abandonment or the desire for disengage from China.

A Norwegian Soul in a Chinese Body? Ethnic Identity and Chinese Adoptees in Norway

The ethnic identity of international adoptees has been a transdisciplinary field of inquiry over the past decades. Taking China-born adopted Norwegian citizens as research subjects, this study uses a mixed-method approach to explore how they perceive their ethnic identity and origin in the host society of Norway. We find that Chinese adoptees mainly identify as racially Chinese but culturally Norwegian, and their Chineseness lies primarily in their appearance. They generally feel secure about their ethnic background despite the challenges and paradoxes caused by their Chinese looks. Most adoptees have no attachment to their birth country, and their interests in China and Chinese culture are usually instrumental and individual-based. Three main socio-cultural factors shape the ethnic identity of China-born adopted children: (1) the negligible impact of their pre-adoptive history upon them, (2) a supportive family environment acknowledging their differences, and (3) an inclusive socio-cultural environment that respects ethnic diversities. No clear tendency towards constructing or enacting double identities among the adoptees was found. Finally, our respondents reported fewer racist experiences than suggested by recent literature on migrants and international adoptees in current literature. This aspect needs further research, also in reference to other cohorts of adoptees.

The Birth Parents’ Representation by Prospective Adoptive Parents Couples

The research presented is a qualitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a multi-methodological structure. The sample is composed by 25 prospective adoptive parents couples (n = 50 subjects) who show an initial interest in adoption. The research results indicate that the representation by the prospective adoptive parents is a crucial one, in many cases characterized by a significant negativity or ambivalence as well as the child’s and his pre-adoptive history representation. So, it is important to deepen not only the topic of family of origin, but also its associated topics like child history and child history representation during the assessment and training of prospective adoptive couples.

Medical Problems of Internationally Adopted Children from Nepal

Background: Spain is one of the main countries in the world in international adoption, and Nepali children account for 0.8% of all adoptees. According to United Nations, Nepal is a poorly developed country. Due to the quality of medical care that Nepali children receive in orphanages, it has been reported that the diagnoses described in the pre-adoptive medical reports do not offer an absolute guarantee of accuracy, and sometimes these reports are not provided to adoptive families. The objective of this study was to describe epidemiological characteristics, pre-adoptive history, and medical problems observed in the post-adoption evaluation in a cohort of children adopted from Nepal. Material and Methods: Retrospective descriptive study on 11 Nepali adopted children from 2005 to 2011, examined according to a standardized protocol. Variables were collected from pre-adoption medical reports, interviews with the family, and post-adoption evaluation records. Results: Epidemiological characteristics and pre-adoptive history: females, 63.6%; all were abandoned and adopted from orphanages; mean age at institutionalization was 32 months, and at adoption was 55 months. 72.7% had a pre-adoptive medical report, and all were diagnosed as "healthy". 54.5% had a vaccination certificate. Medical problems most frequent diagnosed in post-adoption evaluation were iron deficiency anemia (72.7%), xerosis cutis (54.4%), neurodevelopmental delay (45.5%), underweight and stunting (36.4%), and acute bronchitis (36.4%). Only one child had a serious problem (cerebral palsy). The BCG vaccination scar was present in 81.8%. 72.7% showed vaccination immunity against hepatitis B virus. Conclusion: The pre-adoption medical information for the Nepali children was unreliable, and all showed more than one medical problem in the post-adoption evaluation. Adoptive families should seek pre-travel specialized medical advice regarding the medical reports and health of the child to be adopted, the updating of routine immunizations, and the destination-specific health problems.

The Impact of Children's Pre-Adoptive Traumatic Experiences on Parents.

For the last decade, children are adopted increasingly at an older age. Their pre-adoptive past can bare traumatic experiences consequent to abandonment, violence, or deprivation in birth family or orphanage. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of the child’s traumatic past on parental representations and subsequent parent-child interactions. The study includes 41 French parents who adopted one or more children internationally. Each parent participated to a semi-structured interview, focused on the choice of country, the trip to the child’s native country, the first interactions with the child, the knowledge of the child’s pre-adoptive history. The interviews were analyzed according to a qualitative phenomenological method, the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five themes emerged from this analysis: absence of affects in the narrative; denial of the significance of the child’s traumatic experiences; perceptions of the uncanny concerning the child; parental worry about traumatic repetition for the child; specific structure of the narrative. These extracted themes reveal a low parental reflective function when the child’s past is discussed. They highlight the impact of the child’s traumatic past on parents. Exploring the impact of the child’s traumatic experiences on adoptive parents enables professionals involved in adoption to provide an early support to these families and to do preventive work at the level of parental representations and family interactions.

Emotional and behavior problems in adopted children – The role of early adversities and adoptive parents’ regulation and behavior

BackgroundEarly adversity and negative experiences in the adoptive family can put adopted children at risk for emotional and behavior problems. ObjectiveThis study analyzes the influence of children’s preadoptive history and adoptive parents’ characteristics on the psychosocial adjustment of nationally and internationally adopted children in Germany. Participants and settingThe survey included 172 adopted children aged between 24 and 145 months and their adoptive parents. MethodsParents provided information about preadoptive history. Information about emotional and behavior problems was obtained from the parental version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Parental well-being was obtained through a composite score of three standardized measures (self-efficacy questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale PSS-4, Brief Symptom Inventory BSI); parenting behavior was assessed with the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (DEAPQ). Results12.5% of the adopted children scored in the clinical range of the SDQ. In a multiple regression analysis, the experience of maltreatment and neglect was the most important predictor of emotional and behavior problems at time of assessment, followed by pre- and perinatal risk and parental stress regulation difficulties, R² = .423, F(4, 128) = 28.539. Increases in the number of risk factors present were associated with a greater odd of children scoring in the clinical range of the SDQ. ConclusionsMost of the nationally and internationally adopted children in this sample were well-adjusted. Prenatal and preadoptive risk as well as stress regulation capacities of the main caregiver contributed to the child’s development. An accumulation of risks increased the likelihood of adjustment problems in adopted children.

“You Can't Run into a Burning Building without Getting Burned Yourself”: An Ecological Systems Perspective of Parents Choosing Out-of-Home Care for an Intercountry Adopted Child

Increasingly, intercountry adopted children have special needs similar to children adopted from foster care in the United States. Out-of-home placement may be necessary when less restrictive services have not adequately addressed an adopted child's needs. The experiences of 19 adoptive parents who chose to place their intercountry adopted child in out-of-home care due to their child's disability were explored through qualitative interviews and family ecomaps. Themes emerging from interviews relate to adoptive parent definitions of adoption and disability, challenges identifying and accessing services, and the effects of placement on their family, within an ecological systems perspective. Findings show the need for service providers to better understand the impact of an intercountry adopted child's disability and preadoption history on family adjustment, as well as to support parents through the out-of-home placement process.

Predicting re-involvement for children adopted out of a public child welfare system

Some of the approximately 400,000 children currently placed out-of-home in a public child welfare system will not reunify with their family of origin. They may instead be adopted into a new family. Adoption placements can be characterized by poor adjustment for children; some such placements even result in disruption or dissolution. We conducted a stratified Cox regression of 4,016 children from the Colorado public child welfare system. All of the children had a finalized adoption during the years 2002 through 2006. The two outcomes analyzed were new child protection and youth-in-conflict referrals and assessments for these previously adopted children. New child welfare referrals and assessments may be early indicators of poor adjustment for adopted children within the adoptive family. Study results indicate that older children and Hispanic children had higher rates of referral and assessment. Children with a pre-adoption history including longer time out-of-home or a larger number of out-of-home placements also experienced higher referral and assessment rates. Additional factors which predicted subsequent system re-involvement included presence of paid adoption assistance, adoption by a non-relative foster parent and younger adoptive parent age. Several study results were moderated by the presence or absence of an ethnic match between the child and the adoptive parents. We provide an overview of the statistical model used for analysis and we discuss implications of the study results for child welfare practice.

Pre-adoptive risk factors and behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland

Behavioural problems in adoptees have been related to adverse circumstances prior to adoption. We examined pre-adoptive risk factors and post-adoptive behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland. Dutch adoptive parents of 133 Polish adoptees (Mage = 8.7 years, range 2.8–15.2; Mageadoption = 3.0 years, range .4–6.9) answered the Child Behaviour Checklist and questions regarding pre-adoptive risk factors, such as institutionalization, neglect and abuse. Polish adoptees in our sample were four times more likely to have clinical behavioural problems than non-adopted children. Compared with a group of children adopted from various countries, predominantly from Asia, Polish adoptees had higher levels of behavioural problems as well. Multiple pre-adoptive risk factors were present. Only a history of abuse was found to be associated with behavioural problems after adoption. Special attention and support after adoption are needed for these children and their adoptive parents, especially when a pre-adoptive history of abuse is known.

Perfil neuropsicológico de niños adoptados internacionalmente en Cataluña

Introduction During the last years, International adoption has increased significantly in our country over the last few years. China, Russia, Colombia and Ethiopia represent 77% of international adoptions in Spain. Cognitive and behavioural aspects are very important for an adequate social, family and school integration of these children. Objective To describe the neuropsychological profiles of a group of internationally adopted children in Catalonia from China, Russia, Colombia and Ethiopia. Patients and methods Neuropsychological examination of 49 children from international adoption (6 of Chinese origin, 24 from Russia, 13 from Colombia and 6 of Ethiopian origin). Results The group of Chinese origin obtained average scores of all functions evaluated. The Russian origin group was below the average for, selective attention, phonetic verbal fluency, control of impulsivity, mechanics and reading comprehension, and spelling. Scores on the impulse control in the Colombian origin group were below average. The group of Ethiopian origin obtained average scores in all functions evaluated except for spelling difficulties. Conclusion Children adopted from Russia have greater neuropsychological difficulties than the others. Most pre-adoption history is unknown; therefore we are unable to determine the origin of these difficulties. Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the institutional environment could be influencing factors in neuropsychological delay. Inclusion of neuropsychological assessment in health protocols for these children is recommended if they develop suggestive signs of cognitive and/or behavioral impairment.

Postinstitutionalized Children’s Development: Growth, Cognitive, and Language Outcomes

Children adopted internationally from institutions are a growing population presenting to professional care providers. Although postinstitutionalized (PI) children are adopted from multiple world regions, current knowledge is predominantly based on those adopted from Romania and Eastern European countries. This study examines and compares developmental outcomes of PI children adopted from multiple world regions. Five to 11 years after adoption, 8- through 11-year-old PI children (N = 91), children internationally adopted early from foster care (N = 109), and nonadopted children (N = 69) completed screening measures assessing vision, hearing, growth, and cognitive and language abilities. Parents completed questionnaires on service utilization, school performance, preadoptive history, and postadoption environment. Forty-four percent of PI children's growth was stunted (height <10th percentile) at adoption. At assessment, although physically smaller, nearly all PI children had average growth parameters. Relative to nonadopted children and children adopted early from foster care, PI children performed more poorly on cognitive and language screens with increased time in institution related to lower performance. Notably, group means on these measures were within the average range. PI children were more likely to be falling behind academically and to use intervention services. Family environment did not differ between PI and nonadopted children. There were few differences for PI children by world region of adoption once accounting for duration of institutionalization. Despite currently living in similar environments, PI children have specific needs that differ from early-adopted and nonadopted children. Consideration of multiple factors, including length of institutionalization, is essential when providing care for these children.

Institutionalization, Romanian Adoptions and Executive Functioning

The impact of a traumatic environment during early childhood is linked to short-term and long-term difficulties in adoptees. This study, utilizing a non-random, cross-sectional analysis of 123 children adopted from Romania, focused on executive cognitive functioning. One-third of the sample had not been institutionalized while the other two-thirds had been institutionalized for varying lengths of time from 1 month to more than 3 years, resulting in a “natural experiment” that allowed us to compare these two groups. Information from parents and teachers was obtained regarding their perception of the child’s executive functioning. Results indicate that, after many years in their adoptive families, 40% of the adoptees had physical challenges and 36% were in at least some special education classes. The best predictor of parental perception of current executive functioning was parent perception of the current parent–child relationship and not preadoptive history.

Language Development and Delay in Internationally Adoped Infants and Toddlers

When children change cultures through adoption, they experience a transition from a birth first language to a new adoptive first language. Because adoptive families rarely speak the birth language, use of that language arrests at the time of adoption and undergoes attrition while the child learns the new adopted language. During this process, internationally adopted children have limited abilities in both languages. This makes it difficult to determine which children require speech and language services, and which will learn the new language spontaneously over time. This article reviews information on arrested language development in bilingual children and applies it to the internationally adopted child. The influence of cross-linguistic patterns of transfer and interference in infants and toddlers is explored, along with the medical and developmental risks associated with children adopted from orphanages. The primary goal of this article is to help professionals understand post-adoption language learning issues affecting internationally adopted children, as well as the impact of preadoption history on those developmental processes.

Age at placement, adoption experience and adult adopted people's contact with their adoptive and birth mothers: An attachment perspective

Adoption holds particular interest for attachment researchers. Although children adopted as babies experience almost continuous care by their adoptive parents, older placed children experience at least one major change of caregiver when they join their adoptive family. Moreover, in the majority of cases, older placed children have generally suffered a pre-adoption history of abuse, neglect and/or rejection. It is now being recognized that older placed children's attachment histories and internal working models (IWMs) established in relationship with their initial carers remain active in relationship with their new carers. Transactional models have helped both researchers and practitioners to understand the dynamics of parent-child relationships in cases where insecure children with histories of neglect,abuse and rejection findthemselves in new caregiving environments. The present study examines the childhood experiences of adult adopted people and their current levels of contact with their adoptive mothers, and in cases where people had searched for and found a birth relative, current levels of contact with their birth mother. Although no information was collected on the adopted adult's pre-placement history,age at placementwas used as a proxy measure to examine whether older placed children reported different adoption experiences and what their current levels of contact were with their adoptive and birth mothers. The findings show that age at placement was associated with adopted people'sreported experiences of being adopted and current rates of contact with their adoptive and birth mothers, with those placed at older ages most likely to report that they (1) did not feel they belonged in their adoptive families while growing up, (2) did not feel loved by their adoptive mother, (3) were least likely to remain in highfrequency contact with their adoptive mother, and (4) were least likely to remain in high-frequency contact with their birth mother. An attachment perspective is used to interpret the findings. Children adopted at older ages appear more likely to have experienced an insecure attachment relationship with their adoptive mother.

Age at placement, adoption experience and adult adopted people's contact with their adoptive and birth mothers: An attachment perspective

Adoption holds particular interest for attachment researchers. Although children adopted as babies experience almost continuous care by their adoptive parents, older placed children experience at least one major change of caregiver when they join their adoptive family. Moreover, in the majority of cases, older placed children have generally suffered a pre-adoption history of abuse, neglect and/or rejection. It is now being recognized that older placed children's attachment histories and internal working models (IWMs) established in relationship with their initial carers remain active in relationship with their new carers. Transactional models have helped both researchers and practitioners to understand the dynamics of parent-child relationships in cases where insecure children with histories of neglect,abuse and rejection findthemselves in new caregiving environments. The present study examines the childhood experiences of adult adopted people and their current levels of contact with their adoptive mothers, and in cases where people had searched for and found a birth relative, current levels of contact with their birth mother. Although no information was collected on the adopted adult's pre-placement history,age at placementwas used as a proxy measure to examine whether older placed children reported different adoption experiences and what their current levels of contact were with their adoptive and birth mothers. The findings show that age at placement was associated with adopted people'sreported experiences of being adopted and current rates of contact with their adoptive and birth mothers, with those placed at older ages most likely to report that they (1) did not feel they belonged in their adoptive families while growing up, (2) did not feel loved by their adoptive mother, (3) were least likely to remain in highfrequency contact with their adoptive mother, and (4) were least likely to remain in high-frequency contact with their birth mother. An attachment perspective is used to interpret the findings. Children adopted at older ages appear more likely to have experienced an insecure attachment relationship with their adoptive mother.

Frequency of Adoption in Children with the Nuerological Learning Disability Sindroms

statistical study of 80 children with the A neurological learning disability syndrome(minimal brain damage) revealed that the incidence of adoption in this group was almost four times that expected in an equivalent, but normal population. Sixty percent (six children) had been adopted through a private agency; 30 percent (three children) had been adopted through a state agency; and 10 percent (one child) had been adopted through private negotiations. Because adoption agency personnel were not able to release information on the preadoption history of the children, only speculation on the significance of this observation is included in this report.