What have researchers discovered regarding adoption and mental health patterns?
Studies on adoption and mental health are typically performed in one of two ways:
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CROSS-SECTIONAL = studies participants at a single time point or period.
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Used for comparisons of patterns in different time periods
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LONGITUDINAL = studies the same group of participants over the life course.
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Used to study development and change in individuals
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These studies also tend to focus on three major areas of comparison between adoptees and non-adoptees:
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IDENTITY -- how concepts of "self" and "self-esteem" differentially develop
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BEHAVIOR -- how internalized sense of self is externalized through behavior
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DEVELOPMENT -- how socialization processes influence the psyche
More recent research (since 2010) emphasizes the importance of exploring post-adoptive risk and protective factors, not just pre-adoptive risk factors [28][33][38]. Research shows that POST-adoptive practices may have a stronger association with outcomes than pre-adoptive risk factors!
