Did I make the grade? Ethical issues in psychosocial screening of children for adoptive placement.

Abstract

This article suggests that psychological evaluations as a "screen for normalcy" with a view to adoption are a breach of the child's right to psychological integrity and privacy under international human rights law. A foreseeable outcome of such psychological screens, especially for the older foster child who has experienced multiple placements, is an unreliable mental health diagnosis. Normal, albeit maladaptive, potentially modifiable coping strategies arising in the context of family disruption come after the psychological screen to be labeled as an indicator of mental disorder. This, in turn, may inappropriately interfere with the child's adoption prospects. It is suggested that psychological screens for normalcy of preadoptive children represent a misuse both of psychology and psychiatry for they are motivated more by the needs and interests of social institutions involved in the adoption process rather than those of the child.