Previous studies have revealed that despite adversity in early childhood, after adoption intercountry adoptees show a substantial catch-up in physical, socio-emotional and cognitive development and do relatively well in life. However, these favourable situations do not necessarily match positive views of their earlier experiences when recalled as adults. This study explores this relationship: namely adult adoptees’ appraisal of relinquishment and adoption, and their satisfaction with life. It analyses questionnaire replies from 1155 adult intercountry adoptees in the Netherlands, originating from 32 countries and now aged between 18 and 55. Their mean age at the time of the research was 29 and they had arrived in the Netherlands at an average age of 1.34 years. It was found that the respondents were mostly satisfied with their lives, even more so than the wider Dutch population. Moreover, the more positive their feelings about relinquishment and adoption the higher the levels of life satisfaction. Most adoptees felt positive about being adopted although a minority (about 10%) often had negative feelings about adoption. The majority indicated that they had become more satisfied with their adoption status as they grew older; however, those who were older at the time of the study were less happy with this and also less satisfied with their lives in general. This probably reflects improvements in adoption practice since the 1990s, in particular the provision of good quality pre- and post-adoption support services. These findings highlight the value of therapeutic work with adoptees that includes a focus on their feelings about both relinquishment and adoption, with the expectation that this will improve their well-being and life satisfaction.

中文翻译：

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成年被收养人放弃感、收养感与生活满意度的关系

先前的研究表明，尽管在儿童早期遭遇逆境，但跨国收养的被收养者在身体、社会情感和认知发展方面表现出实质性的追赶，并且在生活中表现相对较好。然而，这些有利的情况并不一定与他们成年后回忆时对早期经历的积极看法相符。本研究探讨了这种关系：即成年被收养者对放弃和收养的评价，以及他们对生活的满意度。它分析了来自 32 个国家、年龄在 18 至 55 岁之间的 1155 名荷兰成年跨国收养者的问卷答复。他们在研究时的平均年龄为 29 岁，他们抵达荷兰的平均年龄为 1.34 岁. 调查发现，受访者大多对自己的生活感到满意，甚至比更广泛的荷兰人口更是如此。此外，他们对放弃和收养的感觉越积极，生活满意度就越高。大多数被收养者对被收养感到积极，尽管少数（约 10%）经常对收养有消极情绪。大多数人表示，随着年龄的增长，他们对领养状态更加满意；然而，那些在研究时年龄较大的人对此不太满意，对他们的总体生活也不太满意。这可能反映了自 1990 年代以来收养实践的改进，特别是提供了优质的收养前和收养后支持服务。这些发现强调了对被收养者进行治疗的价值，包括关注他们对放弃和收养的感受，