What are some negative aspects of adoption?

Some potentially negative aspects of adoption include:

  • Mental health issues. Adopted children are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health issues. According to a study by the University of Minnesota, the most common mental health issues in adopted children are:

    • oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

    • attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

    • conduct disorder

    • major depressive disorder

    • separation anxiety disorder

  • Poor academics. Research suggests that adopted children tend to score lower on standard achievement tests than their non-adopted siblings in math, reading, and other subjects. Adoption is known to hamper the educational performance of adopted kids if they don't receive proper support.

  • Feelings of rejection. When the child learns about their adoption status, they may feel a strong sense of rejection and abandonment. It is essential to make your child feel a critical element of your family to fight off negative feelings of rejection.

  • Mourning for their birth culture. The adopted child may express grief for the loss of their birth parents in many ways, including numbness, fear, anxiety, anger, and depression. Mourning for birth culture is more common in transracial adoption than in normal adoptions.

  • Striving for identity. Adopted children usually want to learn more about their biological family, siblings, and relatives. They may also want to know the social, cultural, and educational class to which they belong originally.

  • Emotional and behavioral problems. Stressful situations can trigger adopted children to act out and throw violent tantrums. According to research, older children may struggle reading social cues such as other people's emotions, which can lead to misconceptions and behaviors that aren't very useful in social situations.


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