Institutionalization, behavior, and international adoption

Abstract

International adoption represents about 10% of all adoptions in the United States annually. With the fall of communism, increased numbers of children have been adopted from former communist countries. These children bring to their families unique risks and difficulties. This article presents behavioral data on one group of international adoptees from Romania (n = 216), comparing their behavior to normative behavior data and to a sample of domestically adopted children (n = 61). Results suggest that Romanian adoptees have more behavior problems than typical children, although not as severe as children getting mental health services. At the same time, their behavior is similar to domestically adopted children. Implications for policy and practice are reviewed.