Abstract: Focusing on psychological adjustment, cognitive development and personality development of the adoptees, current researches abroad present that adoptees have showed the various development trends in diverse ages at adoption, pre-adoption experiences, and post-adoption background, reasons and intervention mechanisms were also examined in these researches. However, researches conducted in west countries still have disadvantages, such as samples with low discrimination and weak discussion of reasons. Current domestic researches may concentrate on elder adoptees with non-deprived pre-adoption experience, and comparison between relative and non-relative adoption, confidential and disclosed arrangements with pros and cons.

Key words: adopted children, psychological adjustment, adoption decalage