Health Care Industry

Preserve cultural ties for adopted children

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Jul-Sep 2003

I was pleased to read the article, "Adopted Children: Core Issues and Unique Challenges," by Eileen Smit (JCAPN, October-December 2002). The author is to be commended for describing key issues that may be experienced by the adopted child such as loss, grief, confused identity, poor self-esteem, and difficulty with relationships. I believe that these issues are heightened with out-of-country adoptees, a trend that is on the rise. These children are of a different culture and may look significantly different from their adoptive parents. Therefore, it is critical to encourage the parents to preserve the child's cultural heritage in order to minimize the confusion and disconnect the child might feel from both cultures. Additional ways that this can occur is by preserving the child's first name, if known, rather than giving the child a culturally dissonant name. In addition, parents should thoughtfully and consistently involve themselves and the child in some activity from the child's cultural group. Lastly, parents need to be encouraged to explore possible biases they might have if they become angry as the child becomes older and does not appear "grateful for being rescued" by them. In-country and out-of-country adoptions can be a win-win situation for both the child and the parents if the parents consciously value, embrace, and work to preserve the child's cultural heritage rather than trying to change or deny the heritage.