Topic: Child development and relationships in an adoptive family
Author
Gera Ter Meulen, KnowledgeBureau ter Meulen, for foster care and adoption, Bureau, Bilthoven, Netherlands (Presenting Author)
1 KnowledgeBureau ter Meulen, for foster care and adoption, Bilthoven, Netherlands
Background/significance
In order to determine what knowledge on adoption should be developed, it is important to first identify what knowledge is available.
Aim
Therefore an overview of peer-reviewed publications on adoption was provided, to determine which topics are covered and which topics lack knowledge.
Project description or research methods
The inventory is based on the reference database ADOC/kbtermeulen, a database on adoption-related articles. For the inventory, 2208 articles published between 2009 and July 2022 were coded on themes and sub-themes. Review articles were identified to show the extent to which knowledge on the topics has developed.
Results
This resulted in 90 sub-themes within 12 main themes. There is a high level of consensus about the negative impact of early childhood in institutional care and the recovery of children in adoptive families. Whereas previously research focused mainly on adopted children and adoptive families, the focus of research questions has shifted to issues in adult adoptees. However, the long-term effects on adoptees and their ‘lived experiences’ are not yet clear. Relatively little has been published on the effects of the separation on the biological families and the effects of reunification and contact with the biological family. Another topic on which relatively little has been published is the issue of abuse in international adoption and how to promote recovery after the discovery of abuse among adoptees, birth families and adoptive families.
Discussion and implications
While there is a high degree of consensus on the impact of adverse childhood experiences prior to adoption and recovery in early childhood in adoptive families, scientific knowledge is now being developed mainly on the impact of separation and adoption on adult adoptees. It is recommended that more attention be paid to the biological family, as well as to reunification, contact and how to support recovery in cases where maltreatment has taken place.
