The ‘Quiet Migration’: Is International Adoption a Successful Intervention in the Lives of Vulnerable Children Worldwide?

Over the past decades international adoption became a global phenomenon of cross-border movement of vulnerable children, mainly from poor, undeveloped to wealthy countries. Debates around international adoptions involve, often passionate, arguments for/against. Albeit seen as ‘the ultimate form of imperialism’, trafficking and exploitation of children, international adoptions are also praised as successful interventions in the lives of the most vulnerable children worldwide.
Research on the outcomes of internationally adopted children is highly relevant for both policy and practice. Many of these children experienced adversity (war, severe poverty, malnutrition, institutionalisation, abuse, etc.) in their birth countries. Following their progress into their adoptive countries is crucial for understanding their development, guiding policy and practice and to shed light on the issue of developmental trajectories of other ‘at-risk’ children.
This presentation reports the findings of a study on the outcomes of international adoption and its impact on various aspects of adopted children’s development. The methods employed are systematic review and meta-analysis.
Results indicate that international adoptions are overall successful with very low break down rates. However, such success is guaranteed by the high commitment of adoptive parents and high levels of supports available to these families. Therefore, support services (health, mental health and educational) and their cost implications need to be considered in relation to inter-country adoptees. The study identifies the lack of evidence-based practice on interventions best suited to the needs of these children post-international adoption and in this area valuable lessons can be learnt and applied to other ‘at-risk’ children.