Every adoption circumstances differ and adopted individuals vary significantly based on their experience. Adoption is a one-of-a-kind experience and carries its challenges and rewards. Adopted children usually grapple with loss and grief despite having a positive adoption experience. They also face emotional challenges and struggle with identity crises.
In this blog, let's discuss some common challenges faced by an adopted child.
Adoption often has a negative impact on an adopted child's behavior and attitude. Some psychological and behavioral issues are as follows:
Feeling Rejected
Children who were adopted at an early age experience intense emotions, with rejection being the strongest once they learn they were adopted. They cut off communication with their friends and family and, as a result, experience loneliness. The child usually concludes their biological parents didn't want them, affecting their psychological development and health. This feeling of abandonment often leads to adverse behavioral issues and causes an identity crisis.
Grief And Loss
Bottled feelings of grief and loss due to feeling abandoned lead to emotional trauma and behavioral issues in a child. These emotions also include shame, confusion, curiosity, and disappointment. It is natural for an adopted child to be curious and have questions about their biological parents. Also, if the child is old enough to remember their birth parents or relatives, they may grieve their loss for a longer period.
Questions About Identity
Adopted children suffer from self-identification issues when they learn about their adoption. This often affects their mental health and causes anxiety, stress, and depression. Developing a strong sense of self is harder for adopted children. They are likely to have many questions about their biological parents, their life pre-adoption, and why their birth parents gave them up.
Lower Self-Esteem
The self-esteem of an adopted child relates to their sense of identity, belonging, dignity, and value. Studies have shown that adopted kids score lower than non-adopted children on self-esteem. The feeling of rejection and abandonment significantly alters a child's self-worth.
Genetic Problem
Most adopted children cannot access their biological family's health information. If the adopted child has a genetic history of any disorder or disease, they might be unaware of it. Lack of family health history can affect the right approach to treatment.
These are some common issues many adopted children face. And mostly, people do not understand an adopted child's perspectives and deep-rooted issues. You can't understand what someone is going through until you walk in their shoes. The protagonist of the book Duet of Angels, Sonia, was adopted, clueless of her biological family, who fell victim to the Holocaust and were punished for being Jews. Get your hands on the book to read an exceptional tale of survival, loss, and resilience. Grab your copy from Amazon today.
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