60% of overseas adoptees sought mental treatment

Six in 10 Korean transnational adoptees have sought treatment for mental conditions, while 68.2 percent experienced discrimination while living in their adoptive countries, according to the latest study released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

The report, cowritten by scholar Kim Mee-sook, chronicles the results of surveys of 1,033 Korean transnational adoptees last year.

She summarized that adoptees who were low-income earners, were adopted in northern European countries, had been widowed or divorced, or smoked or had chronic medical conditions had a higher chance of developing mental problems.

Meanwhile, 14.7 percent of the surveyed adoptees said they had been discriminated against by Korean nationals for being transnational adoptees, both during their visits to South Korea and in their adoptive countries. Also, 72.1 percent said they had experienced an identity crisis at least once in their lives.

While those who were raised in northern European nations had the highest chance of developing mental conditions among adoptees in all regions of the world, they reported the lowest number of cases of abuse by their adoptive parents.

However, they were discriminated against the most for being adoptees in their adoptive countries by their friends, neighbors and coworkers, and by Korean nationals.

While 75.3 percent of Korean adoptees in northern European countries ― Sweden, Norway and Denmark ― said they had experienced discrimination in their adoptive countries, 67.3 percent of adoptees in Canada, the U.S. and Australia said the same.

Meanwhile, 62.1 percent of those brought up in western and southern European countries ― France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and others ― said they had been discriminated against in their adoptive nations.

“We are not too sure why Korean adoptees in Northern Europe have a higher risk of developing mental conditions than adoptees who have been living in other regions. There should be more research on that,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “We are assuming the Scandinavian weather plays a factor, as seasonal depression affects a significant amount of people when daylight levels drop.”

At Northern European latitudes, around 1 in 6 people are known to suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Among all adoptees who participated in the study, 42 to 48 percent said they had been discriminated against by their friends for being adoptees or for their racial features.

Meanwhile, 83 percent of the adoptees who participated in the research said they had been interested in finding their birth parents, while 71 percent said they had pursued the search already.

However, only 28 percent of those who had tried to find their birth parents were reunited with them. Among those who had not been reunited with their biological parents, 13.2 percent said their parents refused to meet them even after being located and contacted.

According to Kim, the Korean transnational adoptees most inclined to search for their birth parents were those who had been treated for mental conditions, who had a hard time adjusting as transnational or transracial adoptees, or who had experienced a severe identity crisis.

Kim suggested that the South Korean government establish a support center for Korean transnational adoptees that offers mental health and counseling services on top of providing help with searching for birth parents and cultural programs such as Korean language classes.

“It is necessary to acknowledge that Korean transnational adoptees are being discriminated against by Korean nationals as well,” she wrote in her report. “It is necessary for both South Korea and adoptive countries to raise awareness on discrimination against the (social, ethnic and racial) minorities.”

According to KIHASA, South Korea has sent about 165,000 children overseas for foreign adoption throughout the past six decades. As recently as 2005, the country was among the top nations for sending babies abroad. 

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)