1

What are the unknown risks and benefits

of international adoptions?
Global Studies and World Languages Academy Senior Project
Taya McCormick

Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Cover Page
Table of Contents
Abstract
Introduction
Limitations of Study
Methodology
Literature Review
Stance on Issue
Conclusion

10.Charts/ Graphs/Citations

Introduction
Many adults adopt children from different countries believing that all the child needs is
love, while that may be true in some cases, in most it isn't. When adopting children, adults dont
look deeply into all the issues that come with the adoption. They ask questions from the
adoption agencies but most agencies will not speak the truth for they only say what is needed.
Many families want to adopt children and make them a part of their lifestyle but they do not
understand how to transition the children into their new homes. Many orphans have past lives
that will haunt them wherever they go and their new family will not understand anything about
their past and will not comprehend the struggles that the child is dealing with and has dealt with
on a daily basis. This concludes to the question, What are the risks and benefits of international
adoptions?
This project will focus on the importance of the adoptees to be informed about
international adoptions. It does not matter what age the child is, they will always have

complications. The new parents should learn how to take care of their adopted child and should
understand it will take a lot more work than taking care of a natural born. The new parents have
to learn to be patient and understanding with the child because it is terrifying for the child to be
placed into a new home knowing nothing and no one. An adoptee should understand the risks
that come with the child and should realize that they will not be able to handle it on their own.
They will need major help from the students teachers, counselors, and psychologists. The parent
should also know that even with all the difficulties that will be received with the adopted child
that there will also be many great benefits. The child needs an appropriate environment to grow
up in thats filled with not only love but understanding of the problems and fears of the
child.They will need to fathom that patience and professional help is needed for the child and
that the family will have many obstacles to overcome.
Limitations
With this project there are various restrictions that will arise. Due to the amount of
limited time received, the necessary preparations needed, and limited finances, this project cant
be done in the countries that allow international adoptions. Experiencing and going through the
adoption process isnt realistic due to the reasoning that a nineteen year old child is not legally
aloud to adopt. Also the fact that this project is only a year long thing and the adoption of a
foreign child can take many years. Following and studying a family through their process of
adopting a child and the child's settlement into its environment isnt practical because the project
was given to complete in the span of a year. Living with a family just to study their child is also
unacceptable by the family and the society. This is the biggest limitation because in order to
really understand this issue one must study an adopted child from birth to when they hit the age
of an adult. Also the fact that the issue can not be brought forward just through the study of one

adopted family. Talking to the international agencies is helpful but the legitimacy of the
statements that are received aren't reliable due to their self interest. The attempt to talk to all
adoptees of children that are international cant be accomplished because of the numerous
countries where the adoptees take place. Since there are many adoptions in so many different
countries, there are many barriers such as laws that restrict the entrance into the country. There
are also language barriers that would cause problems in trying to find the data that's needed with
the adoption research.The solution to the little knowledge of adoptees can not be given to all due
to the fact that there are so many international adoptions and there will be more as the years go
by. In many countries medical records are incomplete or sometimes fabricated and leave out
major medical problems in order to promote the adoptions. Many countries lose or dont
document the medical records and the records are never given to the adopted parents. Many
countries do not have the equipment and technology for the orphaned children to be mentally
diagnosed which allows parents to receive the children without knowing their mental state.
Statistics can not be given to to the lack of given information on the subject. The little amount
that is know about the topic is what the project will be about.The project will only receive the
information that will be researched and the interviews with several parents and children that were
adopted from different countries. The only data that will be put into this project is through the
information that is taken and received through online research and the interviews of the adopted
children and their parents.
Methodology
This project was assembled through in depth research on the internet using Google
Scholar, interviews from adopted parents and the adopted children, and the study of articles
about the subject.It contains both qualitative and quantitative research. Many of the sources are

qualitative because it has the descriptions of the adoption problems that the parents face. The
research contains in depth descriptive material taken from the interviewed peoples responses. All
of the interviews were in depth qualitative interviews. The interviews were with the parents that
adopted children from different countries and the adopted children. The research that was
gathered through the interviews was about the problems the parents faced, the knowledge that
they previously had dealing with international adoptions, the obstacles that they overcame and
the outcomes of the adoptions. Some of the research is quantitative and shows the percentages of
the adoption failures and problems. The quantitative research contains careful and precise
percentages that give the information needed to understand why this subject is an issue. It shows
the social trends of the topic and the differences between categories. There was research done
from the American Adoptions agencies that showed the issues that parents might deal with if
they do not look into the adoption of an international child. Many of the sources talk about the
previous life of the orphan and the unknown struggles that he/she dealt with. Data that was
already collected on several of the sources was used because of the inability to collect data due
to complications of inability to travel to different countries. Data was received through the
literature of the researchers that traveled to the countries or had time to be able to create an
experiment and write about their findings.
Literature Review
The issues with international adoption is the reality of how little amount a middle class or
upper class person can help an orphan child by given them a home. They are not informed about
the struggles and issues that will also be received with their child. Susan Merrell wrote a fiction
novel called A Member of the Family that shows the perspective of the mother and father and

why they put their adopted child into the foster care.1 This was written because of several
situations where the mother sent their adopted children back to where they came from. Anita
Tedaldi, a woman who adopted a 1-year-old boy from South America and then gave him up 18
months later because she failed to emotionally bond with him (Merrell, 2009).2 Most parents
dont realize the counseling needed for the children no matter what age because of their past.
The Hansens apparently never sought psychological counseling (Arnst,2010).3 Without the help
of counselors and professional help the child became worse and the Hansens could no longer
control or understand how to deal with the behaviors of the boy. The boy had become abusive,
hitting and spitting at his mother, and he drew a picture of the house burning down (Hansen,
2009).4 This article talks about how no matter if the child is a natural born or an adopted child it
is still the responsibility of the parent to deal with.
There are more than 2 million adopted children 18 and under in the U.S., 13 percent of
them foreign born. These children are no less a part of their families than children who were
conceived naturally, or through in-vitro fertilization, or born using surrogate mothers
(Arnst,2010).5
Instead of giving up on the child the Hansens should have looked into medical help and given
Artyom the help that he needed in order to grow and deal with his problems.
1 Lee, A. (2010). When International Adoption Isn't a Happy Ending. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from
http://www.asianloop.com/article/75/When_International_Adoption_Isnt_a_Happy_Ending?rtn=%2Farticles%2F

2Matcher, E. (2013, September 20). Broken Adoptions: When Parents Re-Home Adopted Children | TIME.com. Retrieved September 25,
2014, from http://ideas.time.com/2013/09/20/broken-adoptions-when-parents-re-home-adopted-children/

3 Arnst, C. (2010, November 4). Tennessee's Adoption Outrage. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/04/11/prosecute-this-mother.html

4 Clothier. (n.d.). Origins Inc. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from http://www.originsnsw.com/mentalhealth/id4.html
5 Arnst, C. (2010, November 4). Tennessee's Adoption Outrage. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/04/11/prosecute-this-mother.html

These days, countries that have traditionally been a large source of children, like China
and Guatemala, allow fewer adoptions or in Russias none at all (Shrager, 2013). These major
countries are beginning to make boundaries for international adoptees because of situations like
the Hansens family. This article shows the decline of international adoptions over the years. It
also points out the age the children are being adopted at and the decline or consistency of the
different ages.The reason boils down to laws of supply and demand: Older children are abundant.
And when countries like China and Ethiopia revisit their adoption policy, they seem to restrict
the number of young adopteesbut they still want to place older kids (Shrager, 2013).6 With the
limitations at hand of adopting infants more adoptees try the option of adopting older children
and dont understand that it is different because the older orphaned children contain a past and
have problems because of it. Older adopted children have a harder time adjusting to their new
lifestyles. Psychology teaches that in order for a child to behave properly and be able to maintain
healthy relationships with their families the child must receive healthy attention for the first few
years of its life or else the child will have an attachment disorder. This is why it is easier for an
adult to be able to raise an adopted child if they got them when they were an infant. This article
brings back the Hansens adoption failure story and gives other examples. The article talks about
the international adoption policies and how they should be overlooked and changed in order for
the parents to be able to have a successful adoptions.
But the changing profile of international adoption should be tackled head on: with more
resources, better screening of both parties, awareness and education of adoptive parents.

6 Shrager, A. (2013, September 18). The real reason international adoptions are failing. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
http://qz.com/125451/the-real-reason-international-adoptions-are-failing/

Otherwise the worlds most vulnerable children will only find more hardship in their adoptive
country (Shrager, 2013).7
Few parents or social workers fully understand that the environment is a powerful but
ultimately imperfect mechanism for changing the life course of a child (Barth, Berry,
1988,p.40).8 This book enlightens the reader of the key issues of how even with the perfect
environment there is no knowing of how the adopted child is going to turn out. The authors also
write about how most adopted parents first mistake is that they have a specific goal for their new
child. A child that has already spent some years on earth cant be molded into something new and
this is the issue the adopted parents have difficulties understanding. The child is going to grow
from their past experiences and be affected with their new ones. Like Kirk, Brodzinsky
concludes that adopted children are at higher risk of psychological difficulties as a result of an
unknown past and the way that the child and family cope with the search for the information
about the past (Barth, Berry, 1988, p.44).9 In the chapter Model of Adjustment to Adoption it
continues to talk about older orphans and their unique adjustment into the new family because of
their past. It talks about the problems that are faced by the adopted families and how adoption
affects their lifestyles. Adoptive families deal with more than natural families due to the fact that
the child and the parents have to create a bond and a strong relationship between the household
members. The adoptive parents cant treat and punish the adopted child like they do their
naturals for the child does not understand the punishments. No matter the age of the child in

7 Shrager, A. (2013, September 18). The real reason international adoptions are failing. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
http://qz.com/125451/the-real-reason-international-adoptions-are-failing/

Barth, R. P., & Berry, M. (1988). Adoption & Disruption. Hawthorne, New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

9 Barth, R. P., & Berry, M. (1988). Adoption & Disruption. Hawthorne, New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

order for them to grow positively the parent must start over from the infant stage and teach the
new child how their family functions.

This article talks about the risks and benefits of adoption and key facts that are needed to
know beforehand. It talks about the reasons many families choose to adopt. Certain questions are
given in order for the families to comprehend the process. In the article it talks about the Impact
of Adoptive Parenting and lists different categories that the child faces such as depression and
identity and attachment to the parents.(C., 2010).10
The article lists some ways that may be useful right after an adoption as well as many
years later include the following: Connect with parents who have completed a similar adoption,
Establish family traditions or rituals, Create a family storybook, Connect with your childs birth
culture, Prepare to respond to outsiders, and Find an adoption-competent therapist (c., 2010). 11
This article also goes on about the adoption differences due to the childrens ages and it compares
the different struggles that each child faces because of what age they were adopted in. It talks
about the child's loss of identity because of their cultural switch. The article also states some
ways that the families can receive help and that the adoptive parents are not alone in this tough
but rewarding situation.
Stance on Issue
International Adoption has become a popular decision by most middle class and upper class
citizens who would like a child but are infertile, took a liking to the idea of helping a child in
10C. (2010). Impact of Adoption on Adoptive Parents. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/impact_parent/index.cfm

11 C. (2010). Impact of Adoption on Adoptive Parents. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/impact_parent/index.cfm

10

need, or would like to adopt in order to begin a family. Most adoptees dont understand the
consequences that are received with the adoption and their adoption journey transforms into a
nightmare. In an interview with David McCormick a father of two adopted children from Russia,
he was asked if he knew anything about adopted children before he went through with his
adoption, his response was, I knew I wanted more children but I didnt realize that they were
going to be a handful until my (adopted) son Roman got on the plane and began to throw a
tantrum because he did not receive his fifth Pepsi. That is when I knew our wild journey had just
begun and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Before adopting any child an
adoptee should understand the child's current history and the unknown history of the child in
order to prepare for the issues that the child maintains The adoptees need to undergo rigorous
classes about the risks and benefits of International Adoptions and receive multiple unexpected
visits to their homes in order to examine the environment and decide if it is a suitable living
space for the adopted child. The adoptees backgrounds should be thoroughly checked and
questioned. Adopting abroad is an exciting and remarkable event to strive for, however it should
not be aloud for just anyone and countries should further more improve on or create stricter
International Adoption Laws for the safety of the child.
Since the late 20th century, international adoption has become prevalent in the United
States, providing homes to children that have been orphaned by disease, war, poverty, and in the
case of China, a national policy that permits couples to have only one child(Rowen, B., 2007).12

12 Rowen, B. (2007). The History of Adoption. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://www.infoplease.com/us/statistics/history-adoption.html

11

There are more than 2 million adopted children 18 and under in the U.S., 13 percent of them
foreign born. These children are no less a part of their families than children who were conceived
naturally, or through in-vitro fertilization, or born using surrogate mothers(Arnst, 2013).13
Many issues were raised in the United States of the treatment of the orphaned children
by their adopted parents. International adoption has been a hard subject with the United States
due to the ban that Russia created against the United States being able to adopt Russian orphans.
It also addresses long-brewing resentment in Russia over the 60,000 Russian children who have
been adopted by Americans in the past two decades, 19 of whom have died
(B.,2013).14Throughout the country there have been a variety of stories of Russian orphans being
abused and mistreated by their adopted parents due to the lack of knowledge of how to raise and
control the troubled child.15 These parents didnt know what they were getting themselves into
due to not studying about the mental background of the orphans. When David McCormick was
asked if he ever had times where he couldnt control his adopted children, he said, Its funny
because with my biological son I believed myself to be a great father but getting Roman and
Taya, I realized I knew nothing about parenting children who aren't used to having parents. At
times we almost gave up but with the Lords strength we got through it and we learned how to
respond to their behaviors. In the online newspaper The Daily Beast, Catherine Arnst brought
up the Tennessee adoption of Artyom who was sent back on a plane with a note and how it is
morally wrong and if it was the woman's birth child then she couldnt have done that.
Motherlode also aired the story of Anita Tedaldi who adopted a boy from South America and
13 Arnst, C. (2010, November 4). Tennessee's Adoption Outrage. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/04/11/prosecute-this-mother.html

14 B. (2013). Statistics. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/about-us/statistics.html

15 Warren, A. (1996). Orphan Train Rider. Library of Congress.

12

then later returned him due to failing to maintain an emotional bond with the child. This has
caused major controversy between the countries due to the views of inhumanity of the adoptees.
Homeland Security states that, United States should continue to process adoption cases while
working to reform the adoption programs in those countries (Swarns,R.L. 2013),16 but this
argument wasnt a concern and didnt affect the United States.
Most adoptees do not understand the risks and the work that comes with adopting a child
from a different country especially an older child. Its hard to adopt internationally not only
because of the language barrier but also because of the secret past that is hidden from the
adoptees about the orphan child. Most children have problems that the parents learn to fix and
work with but adopted children have a set of different problems than birth children that the
parents are not aware about and do not understand how to deal with.
The diversity of cultural backgrounds and ages of adopted children, combined with
generally inadequate or poor records of pre-adoption histories, make it difficult to know about
the early life experiences of adopted children (Hellerstedt, W. L., Madsen, N. J., & Gunnar, M.
R., 2008, p.162-171)17
This allows the adoptee to be blinded to the countries methods of giving children up for
adoption. The countries goal is not to make sure the parent is happy but to make sure the child is
safe enough to be able to live a better life and for them to be able to receive their payment.
Asking Mr.McCormick if they received all of their children's mental health and physical health
records he responded by saying, We got different papers but most of them were in Russian or
the script was illegible. Many of their health records werent found due to disorganization of the
16

Swarns, R. L. (2013, January 24). American Adoptions From Abroad at Their Lowest Level in Years. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/world/us-adoptions-from-abroad-decline-sharply.html?_r=0

17

Hellerstedt, W. L., Madsen, N. J., & Gunnar, M. R. (2008, March 01). The International Adoption Project: Population-based Surveillance of
M. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-007-0237-9#page-1

13

orphanage." A adoptee should research about orphans and the problems that most have in order
to be prepared for whats to come or in order to decide not to adopt the child for the sake of the
child and the adoptee due to the fact that the adoptee is not prepared to adopt internationally.
Most countries that international adoptions are popular in and are the main feeding countries of
adoption such as China, Russia, Ukraine, and many countries in Africa contain either a corrupt
government or poor quality of living and this cripples them from maintaining up to date health
records and the childs documents that define the child. Most agencies make sincere efforts to
obtain social and medical history about the childs family of origin (Schooler,1993, p.23).18They
do this in order to have successful adoptions with the least amount of questions.
With all of these issues and limitations of the knowledge of the child's past history records and
setbacks, adults who are contemplating adoption should be ordered to go to at least five adoption
support groups which can be found through online databases. Support groups will help the
adoptee to create relationships with families that already have adopted children and receive help
from them.19 The adoptee should be obligated to go to several seminars that inform them about
the risks and benefits of adoption in order for the parent to further understand the child. These
seminars will also teach the adoptee about how to treat and raise an adopted child. They should
also do thorough research on their own about adopting internationally to learn more about
adoption and everything that comes with it. In any library there are guideline books for adoption
and how to prepare for adopting an international child that the adoptee should get and study.20
18 Schooler, J. E., & Atwood, T. (2008). The whole life adoption book: Realistic advice for building a healthy adoptive family. Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress.

19 Schooler, J. E., & Atwood, T. (2008). The whole life adoption book: Realistic advice for building a healthy adoptive family. Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress.

20 Robinson, G. (1998). Older child adoption. New York: Crossroad Pub..

14

Adoptees should spend several times with the child before the child leaves its known
environment for an unfamiliar one in order to create a bond between the two so in the future the
child feels safer. The adoptees should research the behavioral issues that most adopted children
have and understand the attachment issues that come with the child. The adoptive parents should
understand some of the behavioral coping skills that the child mastered in their past life such as
Dont talk. Dont trust. Dont feel. (Schooler, 1993, p.38).21 which shows the difficulties that
the child is going to have adjusting to their new lifestyles. In order for the child to have a new
healthy growing life the adoptees should show healthy family characteristics such as,
parents model a strong marital relationship, parents demonstrate the ability to resolve
conflicts and problems, family members evidence the ability to deal with feelings, and family
members show the ability to accept and deal with change (Schooler,1993.,p.48).22
Conclusion
Adoption isnt looked upon seriously enough by Americans due to the fact that they are
mesmerized with the fact that they are going to have a child but preparing to adopt a child is just
as important or even more important as preparing to have a child.Every human being no matter
how young or old comes with their strengths and weaknesses, their history that is only known
through in-depth research, and all of the baggage that comes with them is usually poured out
onto whoever is nurturing them. In order to have a successful adoption story one must go
through many seminars and lessons on adoption and become a pro on the subject so they can
understand their new child. Obtaining the knowledge of the risks and benefits of adopting an
21 Schooler, J. E., & Atwood, T. (2008). The whole life adoption book: Realistic advice for building a healthy adoptive family. Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress.

22 Schooler, J. E., & Atwood, T. (2008). The whole life adoption book: Realistic advice for building a healthy adoptive family. Colorado
Springs, CO: NavPress.

15

international child will allow the parent to be able to help the child cope with its problems easier.
International adoption is a great decision for those who go through the curriculum and
understand it fully. Most American families adopt children from different countries and have
issues with the child and they do not know how to help the child and how to respond to the
child's behaviors. Instead of banning the United States the countries where the U.S. adopts from
should create stricter laws on adoption and background checks. This will allow the normal
American families to adopt a child and be able to cope with the child. The adoptees should also
be required to take some courses or seminars on adoption and adopting from an international
country.
References
Arnst, C. (2010, November 4). Tennessee's Adoption Outrage. Retrieved November 24, 2014,
from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/04/11/prosecute-this-mother.html
B. (2013). Statistics. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from
http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/about-us/statistics.html
Barth, R. P., & Berry, M. (1988). Adoption & Disruption. Hawthorne, New York: Aldine De
Gruyter.
C. (2010). Impact of Adoption on Adoptive Parents. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/impact_parent/index.cfm
Clothier. (n.d.). Origins Inc. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from
http://www.originsnsw.com/mentalhealth/id4.html
Crary, D. (2013). Failed adoptions stir outrage; reforms are elusive. Retrieved September 25,
2014, from http://news.msn.com/us/failed-adoptions-stir-outrage-reforms-are-elusive

16
Hellerstedt, W. L., Madsen, N. J., & Gunnar, M. R. (2008, March 01). The International
Adoption Project: Population-based Surveillance of M. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-007-0237-9#page-1
Lee, A. (2010). When International Adoption Isn't a Happy Ending. Retrieved September 25,
2014, from
http://www.asianloop.com/article/75/When_International_Adoption_Isnt_a_Happy_Ending?
rtn=%2Farticles%2F
Matcher, E. (2013, September 20). Broken Adoptions: When Parents Re-Home Adopted
Children | TIME.com. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from
http://ideas.time.com/2013/09/20/broken-adoptions-when-parents-re-home-adopted-children/
Robinson, G. (1998). Older child adoption. New York: Crossroad Pub.
Rowen, B. (2007). The History of Adoption. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from
http://www.infoplease.com/us/statistics/history-adoption.html
Schooler, J. E., & Atwood, T. (2008). The whole life adoption book: Realistic advice for
building a healthy adoptive family. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
Shrager, A. (2013, September 18). The real reason international adoptions are failing.
Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://qz.com/125451/the-real-reason-internationaladoptions-are-failing/
Swarns, R. L. (2013, January 24). American Adoptions From Abroad at Their Lowest Level in
Years. Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/world/usadoptions-from-abroad-decline-sharply.html?_r=0
Tedford, D. (2010, August 13). Russian Case Spotlights Potential Adoption Risks. Retrieved
September 29, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125903954
Voigt, K. (2014, September 13). International adoption: Saving orphans or child trafficking?
Retrieved September 23, 2014, from http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com

17
%2F2013%2F09%2F16%2Fworld%2Finternational-adoption-saving-orphans-child-trafficking
%2F
Warren, A. (1996). Orphan Train Rider. Library of Congress.