ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS

Adoptions can become an adverse childhood experience (ACE) and trigger trauma, stress and psychological suffering in the adoptee, as well as in the adoptive and biological parents. Qualitative assessments record a significant relationship between international adoptions, ACEs and the development of psychological disorders in adulthood. Many people adopted by families from a different cultural context experience ACEs before and during the adoption process. In Paraguay, adoption processes have been complex and lengthy and lack support systems for any of the parties involved: neither for adoptees nor their families. The reconnection of internationally adopted individuals with their biological roots is timely only if it occurs under appropriate conditions, with a deep understanding and respect for both cultures, without bias and discrimination against any of the parties involved, and with human resources trained both personally and professionally to act as cultural and emotional ‘bridges’.