Friday, April 10, 2009

2009 Newsletter from UMinn International Adoption Project

The 2009 newsletter from the University of Minnisota's various research projects on the development of internationally adopted children reports several fascinating studies:

*Korean adoptees aged 13-18, cultural development, where both the adoptees and adoptive parents were surveyed about: 1) Cultural Socialization/Pluralism: Teaching about the history of Koreans and other minority groups; celebrating Korean culture and holidays; fostering relationships with other Asian or Korean children; 2) Preparation for Bias: Teaching about discrimination, stereotypes, and racism against Koreans and other ethnic groups and races; how child’s life may be affected by discrimination or racism; 3) Promotion for Mistrust: Teaching a child to avoid others who might take advantage of him/her due to race. One interesting point -- parents report more frequently engaging in these than do the surveyed teens!

*International adoptees, aged 8-11, emotional and behavioral development, where both children and parents were surveyed. The report distinguishes between children from orphanages and from foster care, and compares to nonadopted children.

*Social Communications study, started with internationally adopted children at 18 months, 3 years, and 5.5 years. One interesting point -- "overly friendly" children who might go off with a stranger have been thought to be experiencing attachment problems, but the study says that may not be the case.

The project home page is here.

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