Chronological age determination for adopted children

Abstract

This paper has been prepared as a submission to the Queensland Intercountry Adoption Unit regarding policy development for requests to amend a child’s date of birth. The paper focuses on issues of chronological age determination and some psychological and social issues that emerge in relation to adoptive parents request for an amendment of a child’s age. Although there is a strong delineation made between chronological (biological) and developmental age assessments, this paper does not specifically address the intricacies involved in developmental age assessments. Rather, the focus is on available tests and their validity for estimating chronological age.