Adoption Breakdown: Concept, Research, and Implications

Abstract

A rich and heterogeneous body of knowledge about adoption breakdown has accumulated in recent years. The goal of this article is to review the existing research literature on the topic. Method: A comprehensive review of journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports addressing the issue of adoption breakdown was conducted. Results: Terminological and methodological difficulties are discussed before the main findings about the incidence of adoption breakdown are presented. A detailed examination of the child, parent, and support and service characteristics associated with the breakdown experience follows. The review ends with the analysis of some policy and practice implications, as well as with suggestions about how to increase and improve the study of adoption breakdown. Discussion: Although research into adoption breakdown has achieved a considerable progress in recent years, improvements are still needed in both the basic research and the applied implications domains.

Adoption breakdown and adolescence

“…However, in relation to the variable studied here (breakdowns before and after age 13), age at placement was not significantly different, a finding that also serves to illustrate another element about which a high degree of consensus has been reached in the literature, that is, that rather than one specific variable, what underlies adoption breakdown is an accumulation of different risk factors (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012; Coakley & Berrick, 2008;Palacios et al, 2018).…”

“…As shown in the review by Palacios et al (2018), the highest level of agreement can be found in relation to child-related risk factors, with older age at placement and behavioural problems being the two aspects identified most frequently in the research. As shown in the review by Palacios et al (2018), the highest level of agreement can be found in relation to child-related risk factors, with older age at placement and behavioural problems being the two aspects identified most frequently in the research.…”

“…As shown in the review by Palacios et al (2018), the highest level of agreement can be found in relation to child-related risk factors, with older age at placement and behavioural problems being the two aspects identified most frequently in the research.However, whereas age at placement is highlighted in almost all studies, age at breakdown has received considerably less attention.Research has consistently found that it is during the early years of adolescence that most adoption breakdowns take place. Nevertheless, the specific factors which influence adoption breakdown, have never been empirically explored.…”

“…The wealth of literature reviews on the issue indicate the beginning of a rich body of research (Faulkner, Adkins, Fong, & Rolock, 2017;Festinger, 2014;Palacios, Rolock, Selwyn, & Barbosa-Ducharne, 2018;Rosnati, Ranieri, & Ferrari, 2017;Smith, 2014;White, 2016). The wealth of literature reviews on the issue indicate the beginning of a rich body of research (Faulkner, Adkins, Fong, & Rolock, 2017;Festinger, 2014;Palacios, Rolock, Selwyn, & Barbosa-Ducharne, 2018;Rosnati, Ranieri, & Ferrari, 2017;Smith, 2014;White, 2016).…”

“…The initial term "failed adoptions" was soon abandoned by researchers, who now tend to use a variety of terms to refer to different circumstances: adoption disruption (formal breakdown prior to the adoption court order), adoption dissolution (formal breakdown in legally completed adoptions), displacements (informal or temporal changes in the care trajectory), and adoption breakdown (an umbrella term for any kind of permanent parent-child separation in adoptive families; see Palacios et al, 2018, for a more detailed analysis). The initial term "failed adoptions" was soon abandoned by researchers, who now tend to use a variety of terms to refer to different circumstances: adoption disruption (formal breakdown prior to the adoption court order), adoption dissolution (formal breakdown in legally completed adoptions), displacements (informal or temporal changes in the care trajectory), and adoption breakdown (an umbrella term for any kind of permanent parent-child separation in adoptive families; see Palacios et al, 2018, for a more detailed analysis).…”