Adoption concepts and applications

¶ … history have their been instances of the old saying: "I am my father's son." Adoption is a wonderful way to connect parents to children that would otherwise be trapped in the "system." It also provides a chance for children to be in a loving home. However there are some problems that must be addressed when it comes to adoption. There are several components to think of.

The first is biological. Sometimes parents, when they bare children, they pass onto them a genetic condition. An adopted child should have the right to know whether or not he/she may inherit such condition. The other component is emotional. Emotionally speaking, children need to know their roots. They need to feel as though the belong. Sometimes, unfortunately, they cannot get that from their adopted family and then must seek it through their biological parents. Providing the option of at least getting background information on their biological parents can allow adopted children who they are and what possible health concerns should be addressed.

There have been several instances of genetic problems in birth parents that are then passed onto their biological children. Some books even suggest personalities or predispositions pass onto children "...but children do share personality traits with their parents. ... Every mother has a similar experience when a child behaves exactly like her." (Hamer & Copeland 15) What this means is if a birth parent has a predisposition to alcohol and becomes an alcoholic, that person's child may be more inclined to alcoholism. It is not to say it is fated to happen, but it would be helpful for a growing child to learn if this were the case, to then eliminate any behavior that would potentially lead to alcoholism. When it comes to personality traits, depression can sometimes get passed onto children.

Depression is a serious illness that affects millions. Throughout medical history there have existed cases of depression within generations, even within families. For instance, a mother could have suffered from major depression for years and gives birth to a boy who then also exhibits depressive symptoms. This is not to say emotions can be passed onto offspring, however, brain abnormalities that affect personality can be passed onto children. Letting a child gain access to his/her biological parent's information can help circumvent any problems the child may have inherited.

To examine an issue such as adoption it is also important to consider why information for a child may get denied or blocked. Birth parents may not want contact with the child they gave up for adoption. Respecting the parent's privacy is something that should be considered. However, a good compromise for this scenario would be releasing biological information such as medical history and any serious diseases, without revealing the person's identity. This is a good option for those children who are in closed adoptions as this will help protect the privacy of the parent at the same time allow the child access to information.