Joyce Cohen

A Comparison of the Adjustment of Adolescent and Young Adult Inter-country Adoptees and their Siblings

Results of studies to determine how well children, who have been adopted internationally, have adjusted are inconclusive. Little is known about the adjustment of adolescents (12-17 years of age) in relation to young adults (18-25 years of age). This study compares the adjustment by age and by gender for 86 adolescent inter-country adoptees with that of 33 of their adolescent siblings raised in the same family. Also examined is the adjustment of 49 young adult adoptees (18-25 years of age) in comparison with 65 of their young adult siblings.

The adjustment of intercountry adoptees in Canada

Abstract Intercountry adoption has become an important social policy issue in Canada Almost unheard of until the post-World War II period, the numbers have grown from fewer than ten a year when records were first kept in 1970 (Gravel & Roberge, 1984; National Adoption Desk Statistics) to an estimate of more than 2400 a year in 1991 (Daly & Sobol, 1993). At the same time that the number of intercountry adoptions has increased, the number of children available for adoption in Canada has declined steadily. This means that nonrelative adoptions in Canada are now as likely to involve children who were born outside of Canada as those born within Canada. Most of the children from out-of-country have a different racial background from their adoptive parents, as well as a different cultural background. The question for policymakers, service providers, prospective adoptive parents and biological parents deciding whether to relinquish their child is whether these crosscultural and transracial adoptions work.

A Comparison of Self-Esteem, School Achievement, and Friends between Intercountry Adoptees and Their Siblings.

Self‐esteem, school achievement, and friends are important factors in social development. A cohort of 123 Canadian families who had adopted 155 international adoptees during the 1970s participated in a recent research project. 1 The project tested these areas and then compared their results with 121 Canadian‐born siblings in these adoptive families as well as adolescents and young adults in the general population. These international adoptees fare as well as or better than adolescents and young adults in the general population but not quite as well in some areas as their siblings. Differences were found in some instances between male and female respondents. The authors discuss these findings from a developmental perspective. 1The authors wish to thank National Welfare Grants, Human Resources Development Canada, for funding this research.