ABSTRACT
The majority of children were referred for adoption because of biological parents' incapacity to care for the child and/or willingness of the parent to care for the child. In older child adoption, the child is thoroughly assessed as to their history and its effects, and potential for development in an adoptive family. The child is an active partner in an adoption, and the child's behavior is a strong determinant of the placement's viability. Attachment, or reciprocity between parent and child, cannot be adequately measured at one point in time, but must be assessed in relation to its development over time. Adopted children, in general, use more professional mental health care and may be more likely to be hyperactive than nonadopted children. Adoptive parents provided reports of the child's behavior using the child behavior checklist, a well-established measure for assessing the children's behaviors that are associated with maladaptive outcomes.
