Suchergebnisse

English Dutch adoptive parents of 1233 children adopted from China and 412 children adopted from India reported on their children's interest in adoption and feelings about being adopted. Girls showed more interest in adoption than boys and many children expressed the wish to look white or non-Chinese. French Les parents adoptifs hollandais de 1233 enfants adoptés en provenance de la Chine et de 412 enfants adoptés en provenance de l'Inde rendent compte de l'intérêt de leurs enfants pour l'adoption et de leurs ressentis face à l'adoption. Les filles montrent plus d'intérêt pour l'adoption que les garçons et beaucoup d'enfants ont exprimé le désir de paraître blancs ou non-chinois. Spanish Los padres adoptivos holandeses de 1233 niños de China y 412 niños de India reportaron sobre los intereses de los niños en la adopción y sus sentimientos acerca de ser adoptados. Las niñas mostraron más interés en la adopción que los niños y muchos de ellos expresaron el deseo de parecer blancos o no Chinos.

ABSTRACTWe examined the perceptions of adoption and related issues in 68 families with internationally adopted children in Spain (48 transracial and 20 same‐race adoptions). The adopted children, between the ages of 8 and 12 years, and their parents answered questions about the children's thoughts and feelings about adoption. Descriptive data and scores on four scales – family, adoption, birth culture identity and discrimination – were obtained. Compared with same‐race adoptees, transracial adoptees scored significantly higher on birth culture identity and perceived discrimination. High levels of convergence between the children's and parents' viewpoints on the experiences of adoption and related issues were found. Nevertheless, the adopted children scored higher than their parents on birth culture identity, suggesting that at this age adoptive parents may underestimate their children's connection to their cultural origins. In contrast, the same‐race adoptees scored significantly lower on perceived discrimination than their mothers. We conclude that at this age adoptive parents should acknowledge their adopted child's daily‐life experiences regarding cultural identity with the birth country and discrimination.

We examined the mental health problems of Dutch young adult domestic adoptees ( N = 75) relative to Dutch non-adopted peers and Dutch international adoptees. We found small differences in favor of the non-adopted peers ( N = 2021), while a minority of male domestic adoptees were at risk of anxiety/depression problems. Domestic adoptees showed somewhat less problems behavior than international adoptees ( N = 1331). Domestic and international adoptees differed in search status (non-searcher, searcher, reunited), although this could not explain any differences in mental health problems. Social workers and clinicians should support (male) adult adoptees in coping with possible feelings of anxiety and depression. Future studies should pay attention to gender differences in adoptees.