CHILD PSYCHOLOGY KEY QUESTION: Is International Adoption
Good or Bad For A Child?
Point 1 – Parents often can’t cope with international adoptees (IAs)
In 2010, a woman from Tennessee, USA, put her adopted son back on a plane to Moscow. He
was a 7 year old Russian boy, and she gave him a letter which said she was returning him
because “this child is mentally unstable – he is violent and has severe psychopathic issues”.
The outrage resulting from this lead to Russia banning international adoptions from the USA
temporarily.
Application 1
The Gagnon-Oosterwaal 2012 study indicates that International Adoptees may have
long term issues compared to non-adopted children. The study found that 33% of IA’s
suffer from phobias compared to 7% of controls, as well as IA’s suffering more
depression and separation anxiety than others. Furthermore, IA’s tend to have
oppositional defiance disorder more than control groups. This would imply that
international adoption is not good for a child because they are more likely to be
disruptive, and suffer from a mental disorder, as suggested in the case above.
Point 2 – Adoptive parents can abuse IAs
In 2008, a 21 month old toddler died when his adoptive American father left him strapped in
the back of his car for 9 hours in the July heat. The dad did this because he forgot to drop of
the child at day care. Russian leaders questioned whether sending their children abroad is in
their best interests when they heard that the US court acquitted the parent of manslaughter
when they had heard he was a loving dad.
Application 2
International Adoptees may not bond well with parents, if they have a negative internal
working model caused by earlier deprivation in their life. Melanie Klein suggests that
children from an internal working model when they are young, and use it as a basis for
all future relationships. This template of how all relationships should be stays with
children, therefore if they have a negative internal working model from previous
experiences, they will not form attachments with adoptive parents and therefore the
couple may not bond.
IA’s may also not bond with their parents if they have been institutionalised for a long
time prior to being adopted. This would be because the children were deprived while
institutionalised as seen in Robertson’s study of Laura in hospital (who was deprived
and lost attachment with her mother). If left institutionalised for a long period of time, it
may be that the AI’s are almost unable to form attachments with other people, as seen
in the case of Genie, who was isolated for 13 years. This would explain why
international adoptees and their adoptive parents do not always bond, and sometimes
abuse happens.
Point 3 – Countries are cutting back on international adoption
China used to be a leading country in sending adopted children abroad, but since 2015, they
have cut back foreign adoptions by 86%, with South Korea and Russia doing the same. Some
of this is political, like Russia refusing to send adoptees to countries with same sex marriage,
but some of this is also reflected in cultural change, for example China’s ending of the one
child policy.
Good or Bad For A Child?
Point 1 – Parents often can’t cope with international adoptees (IAs)
In 2010, a woman from Tennessee, USA, put her adopted son back on a plane to Moscow. He
was a 7 year old Russian boy, and she gave him a letter which said she was returning him
because “this child is mentally unstable – he is violent and has severe psychopathic issues”.
The outrage resulting from this lead to Russia banning international adoptions from the USA
temporarily.
Application 1
The Gagnon-Oosterwaal 2012 study indicates that International Adoptees may have
long term issues compared to non-adopted children. The study found that 33% of IA’s
suffer from phobias compared to 7% of controls, as well as IA’s suffering more
depression and separation anxiety than others. Furthermore, IA’s tend to have
oppositional defiance disorder more than control groups. This would imply that
international adoption is not good for a child because they are more likely to be
disruptive, and suffer from a mental disorder, as suggested in the case above.
Point 2 – Adoptive parents can abuse IAs
In 2008, a 21 month old toddler died when his adoptive American father left him strapped in
the back of his car for 9 hours in the July heat. The dad did this because he forgot to drop of
the child at day care. Russian leaders questioned whether sending their children abroad is in
their best interests when they heard that the US court acquitted the parent of manslaughter
when they had heard he was a loving dad.
Application 2
International Adoptees may not bond well with parents, if they have a negative internal
working model caused by earlier deprivation in their life. Melanie Klein suggests that
children from an internal working model when they are young, and use it as a basis for
all future relationships. This template of how all relationships should be stays with
children, therefore if they have a negative internal working model from previous
experiences, they will not form attachments with adoptive parents and therefore the
couple may not bond.
IA’s may also not bond with their parents if they have been institutionalised for a long
time prior to being adopted. This would be because the children were deprived while
institutionalised as seen in Robertson’s study of Laura in hospital (who was deprived
and lost attachment with her mother). If left institutionalised for a long period of time, it
may be that the AI’s are almost unable to form attachments with other people, as seen
in the case of Genie, who was isolated for 13 years. This would explain why
international adoptees and their adoptive parents do not always bond, and sometimes
abuse happens.
Point 3 – Countries are cutting back on international adoption
China used to be a leading country in sending adopted children abroad, but since 2015, they
have cut back foreign adoptions by 86%, with South Korea and Russia doing the same. Some
of this is political, like Russia refusing to send adoptees to countries with same sex marriage,
but some of this is also reflected in cultural change, for example China’s ending of the one
child policy.
