Most research on adoption breakdown refers to adoptions that are legally completed or to a combination of both pre- and post-legalized adoptions. The results to be presented in this paper refer only to placements for adoption before the legal process is completed. The main goals of the study were (1) to identify which variables related to the child, the adopters and the adoption professional practices were associated with adoption disruption, and (2) to analyse the reasons given by adopters to put an end to the adoptive placement. The child’s age at placement is unanimously recognized as a risk factor for adoption success, as older children are more likely to be involved in adoption disruption. However, the child’s age is frequently associated with other perhaps less prominent factors. In order to overcome this limitation, 71 case files of disrupted adoptive placements were compared to 71 successful case files matched by the child’s age at placement whose average was 7.84 (SD=3.23), ranging from 2 to 15 years. In the disrupted group, the breakdown took place in the weeks or months following placement. Results from the comparative analysis of disrupted versus successful cases showed some features which were more frequently present in the breakdown cases, and these characteristics involved the birth family (relinquishment of the child without further contact once in institutional care), the to-be-adopted child (behavioural difficulties, typically in the form of externalized problems, as well as the lack of emotional preparation for adoption) and the adoptive parents (inflexible attitudes, lack of self-confidence in their new parental role, rejection of adoption specificities, poor social support network). Moreover, professional practices in these disruption cases frequently involved poor assessment of the adopters’ competence, insufficient information provided to the adopters about the child’s background and characteristics, poor child preparation for adoption, as well as the participation in the same case of different professionals who shifted along the process (particularly in the case of older children). The main reasons given by adopters to put an end to the adoptive placement were the child’s misbehaviour and their incapacity to deal with it, difficulties in developing an attachment relationship, as well as the complaint of incomplete or inaccurate information about the child’s characteristics provided by adoption professionals. The main conclusions of the study highlight the relevance of considering the multiplicity of risk and protection factors that interact and contribute to the adoption outcome, success or breakdown. In particular, emphasis is placed on better practices of professional intervention with the child’s, plus the adopters’ preparation for adoption, assessment and matching processes, as well as follow-up and support of the adoptive family.
