Comparison of Korean-American adoptees and biological children of their adoptive parents: a pilot study

Abstract

This study compared a small group of Korean-American adoptees with their adoptive siblings who are biological children of the adoptive parents with respect to their psychosocial adjustment. Eighteen Korean-American adoptees were compared with nine biological children by a structured demographic, medical, clinical survey form and the Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Form (CBCL-P). The parents did not raise any more concerns about the adjustment of adopted children than their biological children. On the CBCL-P, the two groups did not differ significantly in competence T-scores, total behavioral problems, broad and T-scores and the total number of problem behaviors except for lower social competence in adopted children and a higher internalization score in biological children. In conclusion, the international adoptees, the Korean-American children have adjusted well during their early childhood after early adoption. Further studies employing a larger sample are warranted to better understand the international adoption practice.