Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Adoption
  • Parenting After Adoption
  • After Intercountry Adoption
  • Emotional/Behavioral Health Needs of Children and Youth

Emotional/Behavioral Health Needs of Children and Youth

Children adopted internationally may have significant challenges to overcome after adoptive placement. These children often have special needs or health conditions that are common in low-resource countries, and these challenges may be accompanied by trauma from their early life experience as well as feelings of grief and loss. In many countries, children who need permanent families are cared for in institutions or orphanages, which may increase their risk of exposure to trauma and cause developmental delays and/or attachment concerns. Find resources in this section to help parents address the emotional/behavioral needs of children and youth after international adoptions. 

All Foreign-Born Adoptees Are Not the Same: What Counselors and Parents Need to Know
Liu & Hazler (2015)
The Professional Counselor, 5(2) 
Describes challenges international adoptees may face when adjusting to their new lives and examines international adoptions from China specifically as an example. The article reviews the preadoption experience, risk factors for adjustment issues, how to recognize behaviors, how to facilitate secure attachment development, and more. 

Developing Emotional Attachments in Adopted Children
Parker 
Attachment Parenting International
Discusses the need for parents who are adopting to be informed about their child's history and their potential for cognitive, behavior, and attachment problems. The resource reviews attachment and why it is important, what can happen when adopted children do not attach, and how to nurture attachment in adopted children. 

Fostering Successful Attachment in Intercountry Adoption 
Howard (2015) 
Adoption Advocate, 86 
Summarizes how children adopted from other countries often face multiple broken attachments, which can cause them trouble in forming meaningful relationships later in life. Because early attachments are often disrupted, it is important for these children to develop positive, consistent relationships with adoptive parents to help establish healthy attachments.

Healing the Hurt Child 
Munro (2020) 
Holt International
Discusses ways of parenting and supporting adopted children who have experienced trauma, have had interrupted relationships, and have had no constant attachment figures. 

Language Acquisition, Speech Delays, and Communication Challenges in Children Following an Adoption
Hanlon & Wise (2019)
Adoption Advocate, 138 
Examines the topic of speech delays and communication challenges, which are among the most common developmental issues faced by adoptive parents. Many situations can leave children delayed in their language development, especially in cases of international adoption in which early exposure to language development opportunities may have been limited. 

Third Culture Kids: What Is Your Child Experiencing?
Walsh (2016)
National Council for Adoption 
Explores the concept of a "third culture kid," a child being raised in a culture outside of their biological culture and how this relates to adoption, especially international adoption. Parents should introduce children to their birth culture because it will bring them comfort and help prevent feelings of loss of birth culture and family history. 

Understanding Trauma 
AdoptUSKids 
Provides information and resources for parents looking to understand childhood trauma. The website discusses how trauma affects children, the effects of trauma on brain development, and how parents can help children recover and heal. 

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

Accessing Adoption Support and Preservation Services
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2018)
Finding and Working with Adoption-Competent Therapists
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2018)
The Impact of Adoption
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2019)
Obtaining Background Information on Your Prospective Adopted Child
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2018)

Related Content

Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect

Adjusting to Family Life

Medical Issues With Intercountry Adoption

Resources on Trauma for Caregivers and Families

Parenting Children Who Have Experienced Abuse and/or Neglect

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top