DW Dance

Affective disorders
See Bipolar disorder; Depression; Mania

Affect
A psychological term for an observable expression of emotion.

A person’s affect is the expression of emotion or feelings displayed to others through facial expressions, hand gestures, voice tone, and other emotional signs such as laughter or tears. Individual affect fluctuates according to emotional state. What is considered a normal
range of affect, called the broad effect, varies from culture to culture, and even within a culture. Certain individuals may gesture prolifically while talking, and display dramatic facial expressions in reaction to social situations or other stimuli. Others may show little outward response to social environments, expressing a narrow range of emotions to the outside world.

Persons with psychological disorders may display variations in their affect. A restricted or constricted affect describes a mild restriction in the range or intensity of display of feelings. As the reduction in display of emotion becomes more severe, the term blunted affect
may be applied.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

Lancaster, K. Keys to Adopting a Child. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, 1994.
Melina, L. R. Making Sense of Adoption. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
National Committee for Adoption (NCFA). 1989 Adoption Factbook.Washington, DC: National Committee for Adoption, 1989.
Stolley, K. S. “Statistics on Adoption in the United States.” The Future of Children 3, pp. 26-42.
Tatara, T. Characteristics of Children in Substitute and Adoptive Care: A Statistical Summary of the VCIS National Child Welfare Base.Washington, DC: American Public Welfare Association, 1992.

Further Information
AASK (Adopt A Special Kid). 2201 Broadway, Suite 702, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 451–1748.
Adopted Child. P.O. Box 9362, Moscow, ID 83842, (208) 882–1794, fax: (208) 883–8035.
Adoptive Families of America. 3333 North Highway 100, Minneapolis, MN 55422, (800) 372–3300.
American Adoption Congress. 1000 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 9,Washington, DC 20036, (202) 483–3399 (Public information center.)
Child Welfare League of America. P.O. Box 7816, 300 Raritan Center Pkwy, Edison, NJ 08818-7816, (800) 407–6273.
National Adoption Center. 1500 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 (Provides information especially with regard to special needs adoption.)
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse. 11426 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, (202) 842–1919 (Resource for information and referral. Maintains copies of all state and federal adoption laws, including Public Law 96-272, The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980.)
National Council for Single Adoptive Parents. P.O. Box 15084, Chevy Chase, MD 20825, (202) 966–6367.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

Many of the studies addressing the outcomes of adoption fail to consider important factors such as the pre-placement history of the child, the structure and dynamic of the adopting family, or the courses of individual children’s development. Many studies are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal by design, meaning that different groups of children at different ages are studied rather than the same children being followed over a period of time. It is also difficult to establish what control or comparison groups should be used. Should adopted children be compared to other children in the types of families
into which they have been adopted or should they be compared to children in the types of families from which they have been surrendered? These are complex issues because adoptees are a heterogeneous group, and it is as important to understand their individual differences as it is their commonalities.

Further Reading
Brodzinsky, D. M., and M. D. Schechter, eds. The Psychology of Adoption. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Brodzinsky, D. M. “Long-Term Outcomes in Adoption.” The Future of Children 3, 1993, pp. 153-66.
Caplan. L. An Open Adoption. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1990.
Deutsch, D. K., J. M. Swanson, and J. H. Bruell. “Overrepresentation of Adoptees in Children with Attention Deficit
Disorder.” Behavior Genetics 12, 1982, pp. 231-37.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

For some this is a difficult task and may result in rebellious or depressive behavior, risks for all adolescents. Many adoption experts feel that families who do not acknowledge the child’s birth heritage from the beginning may increase the likelihood that their child will experience an especially difficult adolescence.

Problems associated with adoption may not always be the result of psychological adjustment to adoption status or a reflection of less than optimal family dynamics. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was found to be more prevalent in adoptees than non adoptees, both among children adopted as infants and children removed from the home at older ages. C. K. Deutsch suggests that ADHD in children adopted as infants may be genetically inherited from the birth parents and perhaps reflected in the impulsive behavior that resulted in the child’s birth in the first place. In the case of children who have been removed from the home because of the trauma of abuse, the hypervigilance used to cope with a threatening environment may compromise the child’s ability to achieve normal attention regulation.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

When adjustment problems are manifested by adoptees, they tend to occur around school age or during adolescence. D. M. Brodzinsky and his colleagues have conducted a series of studies from which they conclude that adopted infants and toddlers generally do not differ from non-adopted youngsters, but greater risks for probproblems such as aggression or depression emerge as the 5- 7-year-old child begins to understand the salience and implications of being adopted. Still, it should be noted that the absolute incidence of adjustment problems in
adoptees is low even though it may be statistically higher than the corresponding figures for non-adoptees.

In the course of normal development, adolescence is seen as a time of identity formation and emerging independence. Adopted adolescents are faced with the challenge of integrating disparate sources of identity—their biological origins and their family of rearing—as they establish themselves as individuals.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

No parties may profit improperly from adoption arrangements and children are not to be brokered. The objectives of public and private
agencies can differ somewhat. Private agencies generally have prospective adoptive parents as their clients and the agency works to find a child for them. Public agencies, on the other hand, have children as their clients and the procurement of parents as their primary mission.

Outcomes of adoption
There is general agreement that children who are adopted and raised in families do better than children raised in institutions or raised with birth parents who are neglectful or abusive. Compared to the general population, however, the conclusions are less robust and the interpretation of the statistics is not clear. Adopted adolescents,
for example, receive mental health services more often than their non-adopted peers, but this may be because adoptive families are more likely to seek helping services or because once referring physicians or counselors know that a child is adopted they assume there are likely to be problems warranting professional attention.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

Of unrelated domestic adoptees, about 40% were placed by public agencies, 30% by private agencies, and 30% by private individuals. Almost half of these adoptees were under the age of two, and about
one-quarter had special needs. There were also just over 10,000 international adoptions, the majority of these children under the age of two and placed by private agencies.

The American Public Welfare Association has collected data through the Voluntary Cooperative Information System on children in welfare systems across the U.S. who are somewhere in the process of being adopted. Of children in the public welfare systems, about one-third had their adoptions finalized in 1988, one-third were living in their adoptive home waiting for finalization, and one-third were awaiting adoptive placements. Key statistics on these adoptions appear in the accompanying table.

Adoptions may be arranged privately through individuals, or a public or private agency may be involved. Although adopting parents may have certain expenses if the adoption is privately arranged, adoptions are assumedto be a gratuitous exchange by law.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

This figure has risen with the increase in older and special needs children being placed for adoption. The risk of disruption increases with the age of the child at placement, a history of multiple placements prior to the adoptive home, and acting-out behavior problems. Interestingly, many children who have experienced disruption
go on to be successfully adopted, suggesting that disruption is often a bad fit between parental expectations, skills, or resources and the child’s needs. Many agencies conduct parent support groups for adoptive families, and some states have instituted training programs to alert prospective adoptive parents to the challenges—as well
as the rewards—of adopting special needs children, thereby attempting to minimize the risk of disruption.

Who gets adopted?
Estimating the total number of children adopted in the United States is difficult because private and indepen dent adoptions are reported only voluntarily to census centers. According to the National Committee for Adoption, there were just over 100,000 domestic adoptions in the U.S. in 1986, roughly an even split between related and unrelated adoptions.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

Legal risk adoptions involve placement in the prospective adoptive home prior to the legal termination of parental rights and subsequent freeing of the child for adoption. In these cases, child protective services are generally involved and relatively certain that the courts
will ultimately decide in favor of the adoptive placement. The legal process can be drawn out if birth parents contest the agency’s petition for termination. Although there is the risk that the adoption may not be finalized and that the child will be returned to his or her birth parents, social service agencies generally do not recommend such placements unless, in their best judgments, the potential benefits to child and family far outweigh the legal risk.

Whether the child is free for adoption or a legal risk placement, there is generally a waiting period before the adoption is finalized or recognized by the courts. Although estimates vary, about 10% of adoptions disrupt, that is, the child is removed from the family before finalization.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland

Siblings may know each other’s placements, but the birth parents may have no knowledge of the children’s whereabouts. However, if a child is ultimately adopted by the foster family with whom he or she was initially placed prior to the termination of parental rights or visitation, then the birth parents might have knowledge of the child’s placement and whereabouts even though continued contact may not be deemed in the best interests of the child.

Children removed from families for protective issues are sometimes reunited with their parents after a stay in temporary foster homes and after the parents have had the chance to rehabilitate and are able to care adequately for their children. On the other hand, it may be decided that reunification is not a feasible objective for a particular family and a permanent home is then sought. The foster family then plays a major role in the child’s transition to his or her “forever family.” The desire to provide children with permanent homes and the resulting sense of security and attachment as soon as possible gives rise to another type of adoption, the legal risk adoption.

Taken from : The Gale Encyclopedia Of Psychology 2ND Edition - Bonnie Strickland