Adoption is a highly complex social phenomenon that has been generating an increasing amount of discourse in recent years. Adoption and fostering are extremely important social measures for the protection of children in states of crisis and danger.
Furthermore, these processes function as important measures for allowing those unable to naturally conceive their own children the ability to still raise a family. Given the massive impact that fostering and adoption can have on the lives of both the child and the caregiver, it’s necessary that these practices and their implications are properly understood.
The reasons for which children are put up for adoption are broad and varied in nature. Some parents simply don’t have the financial or personal capacity to raise a child and make the decision that the child is best off in the care of others. Some adoptions, such as surrogacies, are planned, with the biological parents never intending to keep the baby. In other cases, issues that arise in the home lead parents to offer their children up for adoption or else for the local child protection authorities to step in and enforce an adoption.
Unfortunately, in our current society, there are still many challenging aspects of adoption that need to be discussed and tackled. Exploring this topic in a formal way is crucial for gaining a true understanding of its implications for both the community and the individual. Studying the facts and reading and writing essays on adoption are important tools for getting to grips with the complexities of adopting a child. Adoptions today present a range of issues to the children and parents involved, as well as to the state and wider society. Here we will go over the range of complicated social matters raised alongside the practice of adoption to develop a better oversight of this important social issue.
Pre-adoption childhood trauma
Before they are ever adopted by their new parents, many of the children who go through this process have already been subject to a considerable degree of childhood trauma. The reasons for which a child may end up in this scenario are almost infinitely broad in nature, and in many cases, can be driven by positive factors. However, there is no denying that adoption can often be caused by circumstances that are at best unfortunate, and at worst, tragic.
Often young people find themselves faced with being adopted when their parents struggle with issues that prevent them from being able to raise children in a safe and stable environment. All too often, adoptees may have been exposed to addiction, abuse, or untreated mental illness in their early lives. In other cases, young people may find themselves being adopted due to the tragic loss of a parent due to accident or illness. This means that many young adoptees may already possess a considerable amount of built-up trauma before the question of adoption ever arises. Often, adopted children were so young when they experienced their trauma, the social workers responsible for them may not even be aware of what the child was subjected to.
The presence of this pre-adoption trauma can have highly damaging repercussions on the mental health of potential adoptees. In some cases, children inherit a susceptibility to certain health issues, both physical and mental, from their birth parents that go unknown to their new family. Furthermore, the risk of adopting a child who may already be traumatised in some way brings with it a stigma that can turn away prospective adoptive parents. As it is these very traumatised children who are those most in need of a loving set of new carers, this stigma is a particularly challenging problem that needs to be addressed.
Adoption as trauma
Unfortunately, many adopted persons experience the challenges that accompany their fostering as a trauma in and of itself. Foster care can be a particularly difficult experience for many young people, as they are passed around from home to home. This kind of instability can create a lot of insecurity in a young person’s psychology as they feel they are treated more like objects than human beings. The reputation that foster children sometimes have for being difficult personalities is no doubt a consequence of all of this childhood instability.
When looked at with a healthcare eye, the personal challenges that a young person faces as they go through the process of adoption can pose a serious risk. This supposition is backed up by clinical research into the topic that has yielded worrying results. In the United States, for example, children who have undergone adoption are about twice as likely to be diagnosed with psychological health issues, including anxiety, depression, and behavioural problems. A lot of these psychological problems are related to problems that form regarding attachment issues between the child and their parental figures.
Lack of access to important resources
Due to the potential challenges associated with adoption that we have discussed, access to adequate social services and healthcare resources are of critical importance for adoptees and their adopted families. Unfortunately, around 1 in 4 families that have undergone an adoption in the United Kingdom self-report as being “in crisis”, with severe behaviour issues being present in the children they adopt. In these cases, there is often a severe lack of state support in place for these families.
Important facilities such as psychological assistance and family counselling are often scarce, and children end up going without the help they need. Left unattended, these problems often end up growing and having severe negative repercussions on their adult wellbeing. Adopted children often struggle with feelings of guilt and rejection, and these problems can manifest in their adulthood psychology in ways that seriously impair their interpersonal relationships. It is critical for these young people to be given proper counselling in order to address any potential attachment issues or emotional disturbances, and the parents of adoptees should be included in these processes.
Conclusion
It is of crucial importance that the state and the healthcare system treat adoption with the societal importance it deserves, as to do otherwise leaves both adopted children and their families at serious risk from the challenges commonly presented by adoption. With proper access to healthcare and welfare services, adopted children and their families can manifest the life-changing potential that is presented by the possibility of creating a home for children who really need one.
