Adoption Trauma / Relinquishment Trauma

Relinquishment trauma is often referred to as adoption trauma, and the terms are interchangeable.

I think the term relinquishment trauma is used to give a better context for what happens to a child when they are given up for adoption.

Relinquishment means the act of giving up and abandoning a struggle. I am sure many people will not appreciate viewing adoption in that way, but that is essentially what it is.

From my perspective, relinquishment trauma seems to be a better term for when a newborn or infant is given up for adoption, whereas adoption trauma covers a wider age group.

Being adopted as an older child is, without a doubt, a traumatic experience, and these children understandably have more challenges to face than a newborn adoptee.

All adoptees suffer from the same sort of trauma problems as a result of adoption, but I think it is important to differentiate between the two situations.

I believe this because my own personal experience of learning about relinquishment trauma has been quite confusing.

I was given up at birth and always knew about my adoption, I have had significant mental health issues, but I never associated these with adoption.

When I found out they may be due to relinquishment trauma, and I went down a rabbit hole of learning about it, it was difficult to separate the experiences newborns have vs older adoptees.

I had no memory of my mother, and as a newborn, I hadn’t experienced any additional traumatic events (apart from the adoption itself). It feels unfair for me to compare my experiences to what an older adoptee may have experienced prior to adoption.

Therefore, for the sake of this website, when talking about the adoption of newborns, I will try and refer to it as relinquishment trauma.