Adoption and Suicide What We Know and What Can Be Done About Prevention (#ElevateTheConvo Twitter Chat)

According to Pediatrics (2013), adoptees are four-times more likely to report a suicide attempt than non-adoptees. Many have considered the reasons why this is so: Adoption is a form of trauma for many adoptees as the separation from their original parents is a transition that often stays with them. Adoptees often do not know their birth family's medical histories, and therefore do not realize that they may have an elevated, pre-disposed risk for mental health conditions like depression and addiction. If the children adopted are of a different race or ethnicity than their adoption parents, they can feel confused about their cultural and racial identity. This can lead to feelings of isolation and lack of connection. In this twitter chat, we have a powerful, global panel that will be speaking about their lived expertise on these issues and much more. In this twitter chat, a powerful, global panel led an impassioned conversation about their lived expertise on these issues and much more.