International Advances in Adoption Research for Practice.

Simmonds, John

International Advances in Adoption Research for Practice

Gretchen Miller Wrobel and Elsbeth Neil (eds) Wiley-Blackwell 2009 358 pages 27.99 [pounds sterling]

This edited collection contains papers from the 2nd International Conference on Adoption Research held at the University of East Anglia in July 2006. There are 13 papers with an introduction by Howe exploring, among other things, the contribution that adoption has made to our understanding of the relative contributions of nature and nurture to our perceptions of child development. Reiss takes the theme of genetic risk and explores how these might shape relationships in the adoptive family. The theme of developmental recovery through adoption consistently appears in many chapters and is the principal focus of McRoy's section on the adoption of children from care in the USA, Canada and the UK, and Steele's on the use of narrative assessments to determine recovery. The theme is also explored in relation to intercountry adoption with very helpful chapters by Rutter from the ERA study and Juffer using a longitudinal meta-analytic methodology.

The complexity of adoption is never avoided, with an exposition from Palacios on the multilayered perspectives afforded by applying Bronfenbrenner's model. The changing nature of international adoption is charted by Selman, who explores the flux in patterns and influences over 16 years. Birth parents and relatives are focused on in chapters from Kelly, Neil and Grotevant. Wayne Carp examines the different perspectives on opening adoption records in the US, England and New Zealand.

This is a rich and varied collection of papers--demanding to read but full of insight, wisdom and fresh viewpoints. The fact that the authors represent a range of countries is important in jolting the reader out of any narrow perspective and reminding us of the importance of finding solutions for a very large number of children who do not have the advantage of a loving family committed to them for life and to whom they feel they belong. The editors draw out many of the messages for practice in their final chapter. Adoption research across the world is alive and well and the editors are to be congratulated for bringing some of the most significant recent aspects of this together in a single volume.

John Simmonds is Director of Policy, Research and Development, BAAF, London