Adopted youth often have contact with or at least information about birth family members--but such relationships or knowledge rarely extend to birth fathers. The current study explores ideas, feelings, and questions about birth fathers among youth raised by two mothers, including whether or not they desire contact. Interviews were conducted with…

To read this article, it is important to know that I am a transnational (but not transracial) adoptee and that my Taiwanese birth mother hoped my adoption would give me a "better" life in the United States. I present three interconnected arguments that introduce the concept of a "nomen"curriculum. The first argument is that my…

Emotion understanding (EU) is a socio-cognitive skill that enables us to understand the expression of emotions in ourselves and others. Exposure to early adversity hinders its development, since quality social interactions are essential for its growth. Language is a critical component of EU, and therefore, it may be a mediator between early…

This study utilised the Early Growth and Development Study (N = 561 adoptive children; 57.2% male, 55.3% White), a study of children adopted at birth, to examine heritable (birth parent psychopathology) and prenatal risk (prenatal maternal distress and smoking during pregnancy), infant negative affectivity, adoptive parent over-reactivity and…

Although the adoption rate among same-sex couples has been increasing, limited research has focused on factors influencing decision making related to placing children with such couples, particularly from the standpoint of birth mothers. Additionally, there is a gap in the literature regarding how biases may influence birth mothers' decision to…

Bullying and cyberbullying have rarely been studied among the adoptive population, although the few studies available show adopted students frequently experience these phenomena. To address this research gap, this article examined potential differences in bullying and cyberbullying between domestic adoptees, intercountry adoptees, and nonadopted…

This study offers a critical content analysis of thirty-six contemporary realistic picturebooks featuring transracial Chinese adoption. The theoretical framework of critical literacy highlights significant sociocultural implications of these portrayals: in particular, negative stereotypes and ideologies, in an attempt to call for inclusivity and…

Background: At the beginning of the 21st century, international adoptions of children with cleft lip and/or palate increased dramatically in Sweden. Many children arrived partially or totally unoperated, despite being at an age when palatoplasty has usually been performed. To date, the speech development of internationally adopted (IA) children…

Children adopted from care become part of a hidden, but no less vulnerable, group in the education system and may be overlooked for allocation of additional support and guidance. Adoption is a relatively unique experience and adds layers of complexity, difference and vulnerability to young people's lives that are poorly understood and…

Melanie McCormick and Alycia West implore educators to engage in thoughtful conversations about transnational adoption in "Seen but not Seen: Supporting Transracial and Transnational Adoptees in the Classroom." The authors draw on their stories of growing up as transracial and transnational adoptees as well as their research on…

Previous studies have found correlations between parent input and child language outcomes, providing prima facie evidence for a causal relation. However, this could also reflect the effects of shared genes. The present study removed this genetic confound by measuring English vocabulary growth in 29 preschool-aged children (21 girls) aged…

The present study examined genetic, prenatal, and postnatal environmental pathways in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety and depressive symptoms from parents to early adolescents (when these symptoms start to increase), while considering timing effects of exposure to parent anxiety and depressive symptoms postnatally. The sample was…

Experiences of contact between adopted persons and birth family members have implications for psychological adjustment of adopted persons. The current study utilizes four contact trajectory groups, spanning from middle childhood to young adulthood and encompassing three aspects of birth family contact in predicting psychological adjustment and…

Context: Adoption can provide a lifetime of benefits for children. Some adoptions however, experience severe challenges resulting in disruption, with children leaving home prematurely. Method: This qualitative study in Northern Ireland used interviews with parents from thirteen families whose adoptions had disrupted, to explore their perspective…

Parenting and children's temperament are important influences on language development. However, temperament may reflect prior parenting, and parenting effects may reflect genes common to parents and children. In 561 U.S. adoptees (57% male) and their birth and rearing parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, and 7% and 2% Latinx,…