The risk of harm

Ethical issues in international adoption do not only concern the adoption process, but also the institutional care of children. Adoptions are only justified, if they are more beneficial and therefore in the interests of the child compared to institutional care. For more than fifty years there has been empirical research on the topic of effects of institutional care. As an example of a so-called meta study (a study that summarizes the results of other studies) we cite the paper by Johnson et al. referenced, which selected 27 studies from a total of over 2,500 empirical studies and summed up the results.

Early institutional care has the following effects on children:

• physical underdevelopment (weight, size, and head circumference)
• Hearing and visual impairment
• delayed motor development
• poorer health generally
• Learning difficulties
• social problems
• attachment problems
• emotional problems
• lower intelligence
• reduced cognitive performance

The study also shows using the example of Romanian children who were adopted to the United Kingdom, that this early damage is repairable, when they are placed in families, who provide a supportive environment.

The study concludes with the following words: "Analytical epidemiological study designs
(i.e., including a control and/or comparison group) show that young children placed in institutional care without parents are at risk of harm in terms of attachment disorder and developmental delays in social, behavioral and cognitive domains. Delays in physical growth, neural atrophy and abnormal brain development have also been implicated in studies of children in institutional care. The neglect and damage caused by privation is equivalent to violence to a young child."

 

In response to comment we would like to point out that none of the authors were financed by adoption agencies and at least one of the authors of the study is an outspoken opponent of international adoptions.

First published in German on May 18^th, 2011.