A rich and heterogeneous body of knowledge about adoption breakdown has accumulated in recent years. The goal of this article is to review the existing research literature on the topic. Method: A comprehensive review of journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports addressing the issue of adoption breakdown was conducted. Results: Terminological and methodological difficulties are discussed before the main findings about the incidence of adoption breakdown are presented. A detailed examination of the child, parent, and support and service characteristics associated with the breakdown experience follows. The review ends with the analysis of some policy and practice implications, as well as with suggestions about how to increase and improve the study of adoption breakdown. Discussion: Although research into adoption breakdown has achieved a considerable progress in recent years, improvements are still needed in both the basic research and the applied implications domains.

Existing over many centuries, adoption has been challenged in recent years by evidence about practices that do not respond to the principles, ethics and laws under which it should be enacted. Written from a multidisciplinary and international perspective, this article outlines the place of adoption in the child protection system, as well as its core elements of permanence and stability. Recent demographic changes in adoption throughout the world are first examined. The negative consequences of children's exposure to early adversities and the post-adoption developmental trajectory of adopted people are also summarized. The focus of the argument is that adoption provides a legitimate model for the alternative care of children if undertaken within a rights and ethics framework that emphasizes children's best interests, as set out in international conventions and national laws. Implications for adoption policy and practice are presented.

Adolescent-to-parent violence (APV) has received little attention in the social work literature, although it is known to be a factor in families whose children are at risk of entry to care. The behaviour patterns that characterise APV include coercive control, domination and intimidation. Crucially, parental behaviours are compromised by fear of violence. This article discusses the unexpected findings from two recent adoption studies of previously looked after children in England and Wales. The studies exposed the prevalence of APV in the lives of families who had experienced an adoption disruption and those who were finding parenting very challenging. Two main APV patterns emerged: early onset (pre-puberty) that escalated during adolescence, and late onset that surfaced during puberty and rapidly escalated. The stigma and shame associated with APV delayed help seeking. The response from services was often to blame the adoptive parents and to instigate child protection procedures. There is an urgent need for a greater professional recognition of APV and for interventions to be evaluated with children who have been maltreated and showing symptoms of trauma.

report on an evaluation of the It's a Piece of Cake? training programme provided by Adoption UK. The programme, unusually, is delivered by professional trainers who are themselves adopters. The immediate impact of the training was an increase in adopters' confidence and a wider repertoire of skills in managing difficult behaviour. The effects of the programme seemed to have continued for some time for adopters who were not parenting children with multiple and overlapping difficulties. For them Cake was rarely enough. The group setting for the learning -enabling parents to discuss difficult issues with other adopters -was viewed as very important. Many parents had made lasting friendships that were a continuing source of support.

No abstract