In January of 2007 Americans will be able to see a Russian movie of 2005 “Italianetz,” a controversial film that touched upon many people involved in international adoption, the movie that stirred various, predominantly positive emotions among Russians and abroad. The author of this review, B. Gindis Ph.D., looks at the movie from the perspective of a child psychologist working with the internationally adopted children from Russia for more than a decade.
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Boris Gindis, Ph.D.
Dealing with cultural differences of an internationally adopted child
6/17/2006
The initial adjustment period is incredibly demanding and difficult for all members of any adoptive family, not just the child who will most likely be acting like a much younger one, will be visibly stressed out and over-aroused with everything new that is happening in his/her life. It is a cultural shock in many cases, and even families who are eager to embrace the child’s native culture and would try to learn the language, eat the food and fill the house with the ethnic nick-knacks very quickly realize that it is not enough: culture goes so much deeper than that.
