To those people who say (or agree with those who say) that "most adoptees feel psychological trauma" or "usually adoption is bad for the adoptee"...i would like to know where this information comes from.
If you don't have any solid facts or statistics from a reputable source, then how would you know about "most" adoptees?
I guess i just want to know if there are any real numbers to back this stuff up or if some people are just generalizing based on their own experiences.
2009-05-09T21:25:57Z
ok, i looked through many of those links (all but about 3 or so at the end...i'm getting kinda tired) and I have come to the conclusion that 1 or 2 of those websites were completely biased...
The ones that weren't (ones that gave details about experiments including data analysis and such), seemed to conclude that many emotional differences between adoptees and non-adoptees were much smaller in white females (which is what I am, sorry for not looking into all of it lol)
Also, some of the larger scale "side effects" like suicide, eating disorders, lower grades, unloving adoptive parents, etc. do not effect me at all.
Of course, I cannot deny that there are adoptees out there who have had terrible adoption experiences and/or are experiencing many of the negative effects of adoption. I will count myself among the fortunate ones for whom adoption has turned out great for and will keep those with negative experiences in my thoughts and prayers.
2009-05-09T21:28:23Z
oh, and thank you for providing specific links for me. I am a college student and have full access to all of my university's library's databases, but it's hard to know which database to look in.
The specific links gave me something to go off of. Thanks again.
2009-05-10T13:34:02Z
i agree completely with Randy B as that is my line of thought as well.
I'm not going to choose a best answer for this, though, because I'm not going to say that the research people did for this question means nothing to me.
Thanks for your answers everyone. Whether we agree or not, your answer is appreciated (especially since you all expressed your opinions and such without attacking anyone else).
2009-05-10T18:31:22Z
Jenna--while i noticed that you used my question format to turn the question around, i do hope you were not insinuating that i made any generalizations.
I just reread my question and only saw that i made a judgment about my own adjustment and not anyone else's. I understand that adoptions affect people different ways and in different magnitudes but i'm sorry i didn't take a large chunk out of my day to outline every symptom in every magnitude.
I have seen generalizations made on both sides of this but i mostly saw people who talked about the negative effects of adoption without acknowledging much happiness at all.
This is my last comment on this question, i just wanted to make sure you didn't think i was generalizing. If you think i did, let me know where i did please.
H******2009-05-10T02:41:39Z
Favorite Answer
I think it was in the 1950s when Jean Patton was one of the first to document the effects of adoption trauma in "The Adopted Break Silence"
Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self (Paperback) by David M. Brodzinsky (Author), Marshall D. Schecter (Author), Robin Marantz Henig (Author) is another good, unbiased publication that discusses the issue (also acknowldges that not ALL adoptees feel the same way(gasp)
The laws were changed here in the UK in the early 1970s to restore adult adoptees access to their own birth records in response to phychological research.
As for me I did not have a 'bad experience' with my adoptive family. They were the best adoptive family anyone could ask for. However I still suffered the trauma of losing my mother and nobody can ever tell me that it had no effect on me.
eg someone who loses their mother during childbirth have their grief and resultant issues acknowledged;as it should be. For heavens sakes, we lost our mothers! and people want to dismiss that as nothing . . . I'll never get it.
I actually wonder if there are any real numbers backing up the belief that adoptees are generally happy and well adjusted, or if people are just generalizing based off their own experiences.
If someone were to look at my life (grad student, married, nice car, good job, plenty of family, health, hobbies, etc.) they would see me as a "happy" person. Because I am an adoptee they would naturally make the assumption, then, that I am a "happy adoptee." But just because someone isn't beating their chest and wailing from the rooftops, doesn't mean that their adoption hasn't deeply affected them in many many ways...and which contributes to all of those negative things (suicide, etc.) in the life of an adoptee.
There isn't enough research done, but there at least is research...which should be looked at thoroughly. Adoption is a very complex issue, though, and since we are people there are many other contributing factors that can influence our mental/social/physical well-being. But I believe, as I have continued to do more research on adoption, that it definitely affects people, even if it isn't the huge red flag ways like you mentioned.
Burrow, A. L., & Finley, G. E. (2004). Transracial, same-race adoptions, and the need for multiple measures of adolescent adjustment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74(4) , 577-583.
Cibuto, D. S., & Obremski Brandon, K. (2000). Psychological adjustment in adult adoptees: Assessment of distress, depression, and anger. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73(3), 408-413.
Duyme, M. (1988). School success and social class: An adoption study. Developmental Psychology, 24(2), 203-209.
Von Korff, L. G., Grotevant, H.D., & McRoy, R.G. (2006). Openness Arrangements and Psychological Adjustment in Adolescent Adoptees. Journal of Family Psychology Special Issue: Relational Disorders and Relational Processes in Mental Health. Vol 20(3) , 531-534.
Brodzinsky, D. M., Schechter, M. D., & Henig, R. M. (1992). Being adopted: The lifelong search for self. New York: Doubleday.
Friedlander, M. L. (1999). Ethnic identity development of internationally adopted children and adolescents: Implications for family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1-20. Retrieved February 8, 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3658/is_199901/ai_n8852178
Riley, D., & Meeks, J. (2006). Beneath the mask: Understanding adopted teens. Maryland: C.A.S.E. PUbulications.
There are lots of books out there if you want to start reading, I think it would give you a more well-rounded perspective on the adjustment of adoptees, and isn't just limited to research studies (I find research studies more boring to read than full out books)
Check out Nancy Verrier, Betty Jean Lifton, Burns-Robinson, Riley & Meeks, Simon & Roorda, etc. etc.
Actually, if you research this properly, you will find many books and articles written about this... and not just in regards to adoptees but any child who has been separated from their parents (as in the ones who brought them into this world).
I get sick of people who just want to stick their heads in the sand and not bother researching for themselves. It is a well known FACT throughout the world of psychology that babies separated from their mothers ast birth suffer a trauma unlike any other; even if they don't recognise it or see it for themselves as adults. In fact, they are more likely not to recognise it as the mind does its best to protect us from the most traumatic things in our lives and blocks it out as best as they can - and this works for many issues like war victims, torture victims, rape and sexual abuse victims etc. So I am not surprised there are many adoptees who say they are not traumatised by being adopted. Just means they are not in touch with that part of them self and their self protection mechanism has worked well.
I mean seriously, the studies that have been conducted on young children, babies and toddlers who go to daycare prove children are more stressed when they are away from their mothers... and that is not even forever! So if daycare can stress (and lengthy studies have now proven this) a child who LIVES with their natural parents, then being separated from them is going to be much, much worse.
Being resilient human beings, it doesn't mean the trauma has to run our lives but if we are aware of it, we do have to work on it and sort it out as best we can so we can move on with it. Some people go their whole life without ever recognising the full effect of things on their life. Doesn't mean it hasn't effected them, just they haven't seen it.
Also wanted to point out that saying one is traumatised by being adopted does NOT mean they had a crappy adoption experience. Many adoptees I know who hated being adopted still love and care for their adoptive parents who were there for them and nurtured them the best they could. The whole point is not that the adoptive parents were not good enough (as in some instances they were better off adopted, sadly) but that they were not the right ones. They were not the parents one is born with and regardless of how much love someone is given, nurture can not and never will outweigh nature. It just can't because of what is immersed and written into our dna.
A simple Google search...adoption trauma...will turn up all manner of 'reputable sources'. If you know someone with an online university pass...try that...there is much research in 'social work' and 'psychology' about babies/children who were adopted and the affects of.
I think these kind of survey are bogus. Anyone can do a "study" and come out with the results they want. Of the people I know who are adopted myself included we suffer from none of these problems. I am sure that some do. But as with any group associations it is wrong to say that all or most do. I would just about bet that it is about an even ratio of those that are good and don't have problems as those who do. Sometimes I wonder if others don't put ideas in others heads that since they went through certain things then they have to feel a certain way, and if they don't then their told there must be something wrong with them or told they are in denial of there feelings. If you think about it you see it all the time on here, with the "in the fog" and "kool-aid" remarks.