Complex Trauma of Abandoned Children and Adoption as a Healing Process

Abandonment is an intensive traumatic event for children. Very often prior to abandonment, the children were exposed to different stress factors. In order to understand what happens with a child's development following the abandonment we have to be aware of: the child's current conditions, background, and the ideals regarding the future. This analysis is focused on the developmental history of 40 Romanian children adopted at young age (0-4) by Romanian families. The adopted children are between 11-16 years old and the evaluation is done with complex instruments within the attachment theory framework. The conclusions highlight the connections between the three factors mentioned above.