ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews key studies of disruption rates and family, child, and service contributors to disruption. A few studies have attempted to estimate disruption rates, whereas others have compared disrupted to stable placements. Research consistently indicates that adoption disruptions increase with the child's age at the time of adoption. Children's and parents' experiences in the child welfare system influence adoption outcomes. The contribution of formal services to adoption outcomes may result from direct effects on the child or parent or indirect effects through referral to other community agencies or self-help groups. Most available research on adoption disruption gives limited attention to the influence of social support and informal services on the adoption outcome. Available studies focus on demographic characteristics and motivations of the adoptive families. This focus is in keeping with the highly psychological perspective on the causes for behavior.
