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Mei-Lin Williams

Zachary Gregory

ENG 1201

4 April 2021

The Long-Lasting Effects of Adoption

As most of you are told the story of your mom carrying you in the womb, adoptees are

told the story of their adoption. Most people believe that the adoption happens and then

everything is perfect and the adoptee has no more worries related to adoption, but do not

consider the adoption trauma of adoptees. If you are learning about adoption, you should be

learning about it from adoptees. Have you ever wondered about the long-lasting effects of the

adoption of your adopted friends or family members?

Not all adoptions stories are the same because there are many different situations where

adoptions can occur. The various forms of adoption can be domestic, international, public,

private, independent, open, or closed (American Adoption). They all, however, have a huge

impact on the child, which in many cases, is very traumatic and confusing.

The adoptive parents of an adopted child are sometimes the child’s first parental figure

and in some cases, the child may not know anything about where they come from or even when

they were born. In a TEDxTalk, Catherine Robertson explains her adoption story and the struggle

of not knowing basic things about yourself. She tells us, “you are never going to have the

opportunity to meet the person who gave birth to you” (Robertson). Adopted children have to

deal with the fact that they will never know the answers to their questions. In fact, some adoptees

are human trafficking victims and will never know if they were stolen or given up (Leland).

From writing “unknown” on medical history forms to not knowing where they get their traits
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from, the lack of information provided for adoptive children can create confusion when it comes

to identity.

The trauma of being abandoned and unwanted for whatever reason stays with a child for

most of their lives, even if they do not realize it or remember the event. In a study conducted by

doctors in Romania, they found that the abandonment of the child affects the way they develop

into adulthood. The study reads, “the abandonment is the most traumatic event in the child’s life.

The abandonment induces a great crisis, a fracture into the child’s life. This fracture can

jeopardize the child’s development” (Muntean). Abandonment issues can cause a child to

develop attachment issues later in life, need constant reassurance, and struggle with relationships

because of the fear of losing the people they care about just like they lost their parents at the

beginning of their life.

Many parents adopt from foreign countries to create their families, which is what Diane

Clehane did when adopting her daughter, Madeline from China. Adoptive parents who adopt

children of color oftentimes have a white-savior complex, where they believe they are

superheroes who were sent to save all the children and that the child should be forever grateful to

them. Clehane explains, “I did not adopt Madeline because of some great humanitarian calling. I

simply wanted to be a mother” (Clehane). Sadly, she is referring to the types of parents who

adopt kids to “look good”, but often dismiss the actual care that adoptees need to become healthy

and overcome the transracial trauma of being adopted. In this case, Clehane adopted for the

genuine reason that she just wanted to start her family and become a mother.

Adoptees struggle more than they seem like from the outside and listening to their stories

will help them be heard and spread awareness of what adoption truly means. The effects of
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adoption can be full of pain, loss, and pity that often stick with children and usually aren’t

recognized until later in life when the adoptee is an adult and able to search for answers.
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Working Bibliography

American Adoptions. American Adoptions - American Adoptions - America's Adoption Agency,

2020, www.americanadoptions.com/.

Ashlee, Aeriel A. Dr. Aeriel A. Ashlee, 2020, www.aerielashlee.com/home.

Clehane, Diane. “The Chinese Adoption Effect.” Vanity Fair, 2008,

www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/08/adoption200808.

Leland, John. “For Adoptive Parents, Questions Without Answers.” The New York Times, 2011,

www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/nyregion/chinas-adoption-scandal-sends-chills-through-fa

milies-in-united-states.html.

Muntean, Ana, et al. “Complex Trauma of Abandoned Children and Adoption as a Healing

Process.” 2012,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db

=edselp&AN=S1877042812012347&site=eds-live.

Parsons, Charlotte. “Guilt over Abortion Is Rare, Study Finds Adoption Trauma Seen as More

Severe.” Globe & Mail, 1993,

sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db

=edsgin&AN=edsgcl.163877308&site=eds-live.

Robertson, Catherine. “The Secret Identity Of An Adopted Child: Catharine Robertson at

TEDxBaltimore 2014.” Performance by Catherine Robertson, YouTube, TEDxTalks, 27

Feb. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG_JdW54pJY.

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Williams, Mei-Lin. “An Adoptee's Perspective.” 7 Mar. 2021.

Verrier, Nancy. Healing the Primal Wound. Pact - An Adoption Alliance, 1998. EBSCOhost,

http://sinclair.ohionet.org:80/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

ue&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.193812884&site=eds-live.

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