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Starr Helton

Emily Kretzer

English 2

Literature Review

Are adopted children as mentally healthy as children who stay with their birth
parents?

Raising biological children and adopted children can both be challenging. Most parents
want to be able to raise a happy and healthy child. In a lot of ways adoption isn’t really much of
a dissimilar to childbirth. After all parenting can be very rewarding and have so many adventures
in life. Adoptive parents must be prepared for things that a biological parent would not typically
have to worry about. (Bramlett) Truth be told every child will need lots of cuddles, lullabies, and
just a lot of affection. However adopted children are more likely to struggle with emotional or
behavior disorders ranging from depression,anxiety, even to suicidal thoughts and substance
abuse. So the question remains: Are adopted children as mentally healthy as children who stay
with their birth parents?

Most health issues to an adopted child are released by sometime early childhood trauma.
(MELINA) It is stated that most children that fall adopted have been more likely to be in the
foster system due to some sort of issue with their biological parents. A child being taken away
from their birth parents or not even getting to know who they are already causes mental trauma.
Being in the foster system can also cause some mental trauma due to the failure of the system or
the family being abusive toward the child. Another issue could be that adopted children could
suffer from loss of access from important medical or even genetic family histories. Even though
the adoption agency takes pains to gather medical or family history.

Adopted children may struggle with self esteem problems and identity problems. Some
adopted children may feel they don't fit in because they know they are adopted versus a child
who is with their biological parents. (Bramlett)Another issue that may arise could be a mental
effect of guilt. At some point an adopted child may wonder what to learn about who their
biological parents are. Guilt will creep in making them feel as though they are not turning in their
adopted parents because they are curious to know their past parent histories.

Child adoption happens all over the world, not just in the U.S. Children still deal with
mental health in other areas of the world. South Korea is one example.(Schwekendiek) To adopt
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a child in South Korea the parent must be between the ages of 25-47. Children suffer from
learning disabilities along with health issues in South Korea. One thing that’s different in South
Korea vs The United States is that, if an adopted parent shows any signs of mental issues or
depression or even if they have a past history they are not allowed to adopt the child. Mental
health does not change anywhere in the world especially when dealing with adopted children.

It was proven after research that children who are adopted suffer from more mental health
vs children who live with their biological parents. In an interview with Jane Annunziata in About
‘All About Adoption she talked about data that found that more children who are adopted suffer
from more mental health.(Annuziata) Also she explains the findings of children in therapy come
from adopted homes. After listening to her interview it definitely answered a lot of questions and
made a lot of the information become more reliable.

The book called “Being Adopted: the Lifelong Search for Self.” is categorized as a
Psychology book; it introduces a fair amount of psychological theory throughout the whole book.
(Brodzinsky) Though the book was published in 1992, the book’s information is still relevant
and helpful to adoptees. The book is specifically aimed at adoptees and helps guide parents as
well. The book’s authors, David Brodoinsky Ph.D provided details about the psychological
theory, resources, and research throughout the book as to better help adoptees understand some
of the development periods that they will go through in their lives. This book helps parents and
also adopted children with a lot of issues they may come across or face.

In conclusion, after researching the given sources, is it indeed the truth that adopted
children are not as mentally healthy as children who stay with their birth parents. Adopted
children experience a lot of mental abuse. These children go through so much from losing their
parents to the foster system or just being adopted. Having the experience of this topic can prove
that as well. Mental health is real and it is mainly found in children who are adopted. One day in
the future maybe this area will get better for children who are adopted.
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Works Cited:

Annuziata, Jane “Interview With Jane Annunziata About ‘All About Adoption.’” American
Psychological Association, American Psychological Association,
www.apa.org/pubs/books/interviews/441A058-annunziata.

Bramlett, Matthew D., et al. “The Health and Well-Being of Adopted Children.” American
Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Feb. 2007,
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/Supplement_1/S54.short

Brodzinsky, David, et al. “Being Adopted: the Lifelong Search for Self.” Amazon, Anchor
Books, 1993, www.amazon.com/Being-Adopted-Lifelong-Search-Anchor/dp/0385414269.

MELINA, L. R. Raising adopted children : a manual for adoptive parents. 1st ed. [s. l.]: Harper
& Row, 1986. ISBN 0060960396. Disponível em: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=cat01128a&AN=scc.b1009877&site=eds-live. Acesso em: 11 jul. 2021.

Schwekendiek, Daniel. “Child Adoption from South Korea: Historical Trends and Human
Welfare Issues.” International Journal of Child Health & Human Development 12, no. 2 (April
2019): 79–87. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edb&AN=140081262&site=eds-live.
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