Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAdoptees at Higher Risk for Mental Health IssuesMental Health Effects of Being AdoptedCommon Issues Among AdopteesHow to Find Help
Table of ContentsView All
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Table of Contents
Adoptees at Higher Risk for Mental Health Issues
Mental Health Effects of Being Adopted
Common Issues Among Adoptees
How to Find Help
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Attachmentstarts in the womb, so even for children relinquished at birth, this represents a significant trauma and attachment wound.Adoption can play a role in attachment issues, trauma, and behavioral issues that affect people from childhood into adulthood.
There are about seven million adoptees living in the United States, and approximately 140,000 are adopted each year.While many people look at adoption as something beautiful—and it can be—the truth is that adoptees may deal with significant mental health effects after being adopted.
Adoption involves placing a child with someone who is not their biological parent—whether this is after being separated at birth or being adopted at any subsequent point.
At a GlanceAdopted children are at a higher risk of mental health issues than non-adoptees. Evidence suggests that adopted children face higher risks for childhood adversity, trauma, and attachment issues. Such problems can include anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and an increased risk for suicide. Fortunately, adoptees are also more likely to receive therapy, which can help them cope with the mental health effects of being adopted.
At a Glance
Adopted children are at a higher risk of mental health issues than non-adoptees. Evidence suggests that adopted children face higher risks for childhood adversity, trauma, and attachment issues. Such problems can include anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and an increased risk for suicide. Fortunately, adoptees are also more likely to receive therapy, which can help them cope with the mental health effects of being adopted.
Signs and Causes of Attachment Issues
Adoptees are statistically known to be more at risk for mental health problems, both due to the initialtraumaand genetics. Mental health issues may also be prevalent in biological parents,who have suffered their own traumas, which are then genetically passed on to the child.
A meta-analysis (review of studies) about adoptees’ mental health found higher levels of depression and anxiety than in non-adoptees, with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder as the two disorders most associated with adoption.Additionally, adoptees are more likely to attempt suicide.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
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Why Adoptees are at Risk
Lesli Johnson, LMFTIt’s not OK to bring puppies home until they’re eight weeks old, but with infants, we have this expectation that they’re just supposed to fit in and belong.
Lesli Johnson, LMFT
It’s not OK to bring puppies home until they’re eight weeks old, but with infants, we have this expectation that they’re just supposed to fit in and belong.
Attachment is the state of emotional connectedness with another human being, primarily parents. Research shows that children who have been adopted face higher levels of attachment insecurity than non-adoptees—and adoptees who enter their parents’ lives later than at one year old have deeper attachment issues than those adopted at birth or soon after.
Some of this may be due tointergenerational transmissionof attachment issues—that is, the changes in one’s body/brain due to poor attachment being genetically passed on.
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Additionally, Johnson says that some of the issues come from the messaging that adoptees receive—both societally and at home. “If they are told ‘your parent loved you so much, she wanted you to have a better life,’ kids might conflate love with loss. It’s not a great way for adoptive parents to explain it to kids.”
Honest Adoption Language vs. Positive Adoption Language
Adoptees are more likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis than non-adoptees, both due to the effects of trauma as well as the increased chance of heritability.Some common diagnoses among adoptees:
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While there are certain mental health conditions and diagnoses that adoptees are vulnerable to, there are also issues that arise that do not represent a clinical diagnosis, but nonetheless, affect adoptees' lives.
Disenfranchised Grief
While things like death and divorce are typically recognized as grief, adoption is not often recognized. This is calleddisenfranchised grief—a type of grief that people feel uncomfortable acknowledging publicly.
Johnson says that this type of grief is common among adoptees because of the societal messaging suggesting “you should be grateful” or “you were adopted into a good family.”
Because of this, adoptees often will downplay their loss—and the loss of your birth mother or parentsisa major loss, even if it was “for a good reason.”
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Hypervigilance
Trust
Often adults and young adults will experience difficulty with relationships, according to Johnson. “They wonder, ‘Who can I trust?'” Their major experiences with “love"have included loss, so they wonder whowillstick around.
Forming a Sense of Self
While most people will struggle at some point tofigure out who they are in the world, adoptees have it even harder. If you don’t even know anything about the people responsible for your genetics, it can be hard to know whoyouare.
Adoptees—particularly in transracial adoptions—may feel stuck between two worlds. They feel like they don’t quite belong in the family raising them, nor do they belong in the their family of origin.
Issues in Children
Johnson says that younger kids, between ages three to five, often have a very literal understanding of adoption. “Adoption [to a kid] simply means ‘I was given to this family.’
“But as kids get older, they start putting things together. They might see a classmate’s pregnant mother and have questions their adoptive family may not be able to answer about their mother’s pregnancy.”
Grief looks different in children, she says. Rather than tearfulness or sadness, it often looks like acting out or not behaving.
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Suicide in Adoptees
Adoptees are at a four times higher rate of risk for suicide, according to one study.It is believed that some of the reasons for this may be early trauma, attachment issues, and a history of institutional care, such as in an orphanage.
Other reasons may include the possible inheritance of susceptibility to mental illness, substance use, or suicidal behavior.
If you are an adoptee and these or any other issues have been impacting your life, there is support for you out there, from adoption-focused therapists to support groups. You don’t have to face this alone.
Therapy
The good news is that adoptees go to therapy at a higher rate than non-adoptees; they are represented twice as much as non-adoptees in therapy.
When looking for a therapist who specializes in adoption, Johnson suggests asking these three questions:
Get Help NowWe’ve tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of thebest online therapy programsincluding Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.
Get Help Now
We’ve tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of thebest online therapy programsincluding Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.
Support Groups
Adoption can feel like a very unique and isolating experience that few understand. A support group of other adoptees may help you feel less alone. Such groups, whether in-person or online, help you connect with others who have had similar experiences. This can be a great source of encouragement, understanding, and valuable information.
I Am Grateful To Be Adopted—and Yet, Adoption Is Still Traumatic
Keep in Mind
Coping With Complicated Feelings as an Adoptive Parent
8 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Brandon AR, Pitts S, Denton WH, Stringer CA, Evans HM.A history of the theory os prenatal attachment.J Prenat Perinat Psychol Health. 2009;23(4):201-222.
Adoption Network.U.S. Adoption Statistics.
Lehto K, Hägg S, Lu D, Karlsson R, Pedersen NL, Mosing MA.Childhood adoption and mental health in adulthood: the role of gene-environment correlations and interactions in the uk biobank.Biological Psychiatry. 2020;87(8):708-716. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.10.016
Melero S, Sánchez-Sandoval Y.Mental health and psychological adjustment in adults who were adopted during their childhood: A systematic review.Children and Youth Services Review. 2017;77:188-196. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.006
Lehto K, Hägg S, Lu D, Karlsson R, Pedersen NL, Mosing MA.Childhood adoption and mental health in adulthood: The role of gene-environment correlations and interactions in the UK Biobank.Biol Psychiatry. 2020;87(8):708-716. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.10.016
Keyes MA, Malone SM, Sharma A, Iacono WG, McGue M.Risk of suicide attempt in adopted and nonadopted offspring.Pediatrics. 2013;132(4):639-646. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-3251
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