Adoption breakdown and adolescence

Adoption breakdown has attracted an increasing amount of attention over recent years, and studies coincide in stating that the mean age at which this phenomenon occurs is early adolescence. Nevertheless, the specific factors which influence adoption breakdown have never been empirically explored. The aim of this article is therefore to analyze these factors by comparing cases of adoption breakdown which occurred prior to the onset of adolescence with those occurring after the beginning of this developmental stage. The study explores 69 cases of adoption breakdown occurring over the course of a decade in one Spanish region, taking into consideration variables related to the adopted children, the adoptive parents, the parent-child relationship and the professional support services provided to these families. The results reveal a clear difference in the profile of breakdowns occurring before and after the onset of adolescence, and identify a series of factors which seem to have a stronger influence in each group, such as violence, timing of problems and unrealistic expectations regarding the child. These findings have important implications for professional adoption services, such us the importance of early identification of difficulties and provide professional support during adolescence

Transracial adoption in Britain: Politics, ideology and reality

Transracial adoptions by white parents are situated at the intersections of family and public policy. Debates on racial integration are juxtaposed with child rights and the private sphere of the family. In Britain, the practices of transracial adoption and 'racial matching' continue to invite fierce debate and discussion. Several factors, including the ongoing disproportionate representation of minority ethnic children in the public care system, the 'unavailability' of suitable minority ethnic adoptive parents, concerns about adoptees' racial/cultural identity and the 'suitability' of white parents to raise racially competent children, form the backdrop for such debates. For the last decade or so, political attention has been focused on permanence for children in care and adoption in particular. Within these wider debates, the allegedly low adoption rates of minority ethnic children, the 'delay' in finding suitable adoptive families, the 'rejection' of suitable white adoptive couples, and 'ethnic matching' are presented as some of the key concerns. Ravinder Barn and Derek Kirton seek to unravel the evidence base around transracial adoption and 'racial matching' in the symbolic representational battle being fought in the 'best interests' of minority ethnic children

A theoretical framework for understanding ethnic socialization among international adoptees

10.1606/1044-3894.3817Families in Society894543-55