International Adoption in the U. S: Traumatic Stress and Normal Developmental Responses.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of literature on internationally adopted children in the U.S. that provides context, references for normal development, and describes traumatic stress with children. This gives counselors and other professionals who work with young children and families of international adoption a conceptual framework to understand experiences that may need to be mediated and normalized. The literature suggests that by developing sensitive and responsive social—emotional relationships with infants and young children, caregivers can foster resiliency. It is important to have an accurate reference for developmental effects with internationally adopted children so that we can aid these families as they deal with the complexity of adoption.