Promoting Resilient Outcomes among Internationally Adopted Children from Child Care Institutes: Role of The Life Story

Abstract

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the role of the life story in three cases of internationally adopted children in promoting resilient outcomes among these children. Methodology: The pediatric adoption clinic in the department of pediatrics in a tertiary care center facilitates the adoption of children from Government Run Child Care Institutes. The qualitative narrative methodology was used to explore how international adoptive families navigate the adoption process to improve and enhance the probability of optimal adoption outcomes. Descriptions of the qualitative interviews and discussions regarding the families’ experiences and struggles of procuring information and personal stories of the adopting children from India are presented. Verbal consent was taken from all the parents. Results: The Indian Adoption Regulations of 2017 allows for documentation and permission for sharing memory albums and interests of the child with the adoptive families. However, there are instances where the child care institutes do not maintain any records and have little to share with the families leading to feelings of grief and loss postadoption among internationally adopted children. The three families interviewed expressed a desire to maintain an association with the child’s culture and sought guidance on how they could help their adoptive children develop an ethnic identity that supports their psychological well-being. Maintaining records and chronicling the child’s biographic preadoption history is one way to help children to understand their personal stories and develop a stable identity. Conclusions: Adoption agencies and associated professionals should encourage and facilitate all activities that enhance attachment and creates emotional bonds between adoptive parents and the adoptees.