Deborah N. Silverstein, LCSW, and Sharon Kaplan Roszia, MS, identified and organized common experiences of adoptees into “Seven Core Issues.”
These are normal experiences in the lives of people touched by adoption—birthparents, adoptive parents and adoptees—but can become problems if they are ignored.
Simply being aware of them will prepare and empower you to deal with them.
The primary issues, as explained by The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.)in the publication, “7 Core Issues in Adoption,” include:
- Loss
- Rejection
- Guilt/Shame
- Grief
- Identity
- Intimacy
- Mastery/Control
As an adoptee, it is important to know that the feelings associated with each may become more intense when any member of the adoption family (adoptee, adoptive parent and birthparent) reaches a milestone, such as:
- Discovering physical differences
- Understanding relinquishment
- Learning about reproduction
- Entering school (people asking questions)
- Celebrating birthdays
- Visiting a doctor
- Completing school assignments
- Reaching adolescence
- Dating
- Leaving home
- Getting married
- Giving birth
- Times of loss or change
- Lifelong Issues in Adoption (by Deborah N. Silverstein and Sharon Kaplan Roszia, posted on the website for Families Adopting in Response)
- Connecting With Our Children: Shared Feelings Grow Strong Sons and Daughters (by Jean MacLeod in 2007, for RainbowKids.org) Provides practical suggestions for helping children navigate the seven core issues
- Video clip from “We Can Do Better: Parenting the Adopted Child,” discussing aspects of grief and loss in adoption
This list of resources is for your convenience. This list does not imply an endorsement from Bethany Christian Services for the organization, website, or individual. We have no control over or responsibility for the accuracy or relevance of their information.