Adopted Research Articles

Adopted adults’ Motivation, Decision Making, and Experience of Searching for Birth Family: A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography of the Qualitative Literature

This paper is the first to systematically review qualitative research on adopted adults’ motivations and experiences of birth family searching. A line of argument synthesis developed four overarching themes: ‘missing pieces’, ‘different and othered’, ‘the circumscribed position in the adoption triad’ and ‘internal and external challenges.’ The main findings illustrated that searching is complex, inherently linked to identity. Also implicated in the process are relational dynamics and internal and external challenges. Practice implications include recommending contact services that provide psychological support for the searching process. Also recommended for mental health practitioners is specialized training in contemporary adoption issues.

Family‐building desires among adopted adolescents with lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents

AbstractObjectiveThis study qualitatively examined family‐building desires of diverse adopted adolescents.BackgroundResearch on parenting aspirations has rarely included youth with LGBTQ+ parents and/or from adoptive families. Understanding diverse adopted adolescents' feelings about parenthood may yield insights regarding identity and ideas about family.MethodsWe conducted a thematic analysis of interview data from 48 adopted adolescents (27 were LGBTQ+) in the United States, aged 13 to 18, from lesbian, gay, and heterosexual two‐parent families.ResultsMost adolescents desired future parenthood, after achieving other normative milestones, and they typically did not feel familial or societal pressure to become parents. LGBTQ+ participants showed a preference for adoption while transracially adopted adolescents preferred biological parenthood.ConclusionGuided by developmental approaches about identity and adoption, as well as queer family theory, we found that teenagers adopted by lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples generally envisioned parenthood for themselves. Plans to do so varied by minoritized gender, sexual, and racial/ethnic identities. Thus, an intersectional perspective is imperative to understand youths' thoughts about family building.ImplicationsOur findings reveal insights into adopted adolescents' constructed future identities. Practitioners' understanding of adopted adolescents' development and future planning may be enhanced when adolescents' perspectives are considered.

Pengaruh Pemahaman Masyarakat Terhadap Pergantian Nasab Anak Oleh Ayah Angkat Perspektif Hukum Islam

A child's lineage that is not suitable will bring disaster to that child, as happened in Jakarta City. The type of research carried out by researchers is field research using qualitative methods. Meanwhile, the data collection techniques used include observation, interviews and notes. Regarding the analysis technique used, namely using inductive thinking, inductive is a way of thinking that arises from specific data and empirical facts in the field which are synthesized, processed, studied, then the meaning is drawn in the form of general conclusions. This research uses an approach with Islamic legal theory, especially those related to lineage and adoption. From this research, it can be concluded that in the community's understanding of changes in children's lineages carried out by adoptive fathers in Jakarta, some people make their foster children their bloodlines. Factors that influence social ignorance are education and tradition. Islamic law prohibits adoption by affixing the adoptive father's name to the adopted child.

Using a customer discovery process to enhance the potential dissemination and scalability of a family healthy weight program for rural communities and small towns

AimCustomer discovery, an entrepreneurial and iterative process to understand the context and needs of potential adoption agencies, may be an innovative strategy to improve broader dissemination of evidence-based interventions. This paper describes the customer discovery process for the Building Healthy Families (BHF) Online Training Resources and Program Package (BHF Resource Package) to support rural community adoption of an evidence-based, family healthy weight program.MethodsThe customer discovery process was completed as part of a SPeeding Research-tested INTerventions (SPRINT) training supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Customer discovery interviews (n=47) were conducted with people that could be potential resource users, economic buyers, and BHF adoption influencers to capture multiple contextual and needs-based factors related to adopting new evidence-based interventions. Qualitative analyses were completed in an iterative fashion as each interview was completed.ResultsThe BHF Resource Package was designed to be accessible to a variety of implementation organizations. However, due to different resources being available in different rural communities, customer discovery interviews suggested that focusing on rural health departments may be a consistent setting for intervention adoption. We found that local health departments prioritize childhood obesity but lacked the training and resources necessary to implement effective programming. Several intervention funding approaches were also identified including (1) program grants from local and national foundations, (2) healthcare community benefit initiatives, and (3) regional employer groups. Payment plans recommended in the customer discovery interviews included a mix of licensing and technical support fees for BHF delivery organizations, potential insurance reimbursement, and family fees based on ability to pay. Marketing a range of BHF non-weight related outcomes was also recommended during the customer discovery process to increase the likelihood of BHF scale-up and sustainability.ConclusionsEngaging in customer discovery provided practical directions for the potential adoption, implementation, and sustainability of the BHF Resource Package. However, the inconsistent finding that health departments are both the ideal implementation organization, but also see childhood obesity treatment as a clinical service, is concerning.

Adoption-Informed Care: What Clinicians in the United States Need to Know

Given the prevalence of adoption in the United States, adoptive families need clinicians to be informed and aware of the unique experiences and needs of adoptive families. This study adds to our knowledge of adoption through examining the stories of adoptive parents to gain a deeper understanding of the facilitators and barriers to effective parenting, building attachment, and maintaining post-permanency continuity for their families. Results highlight specific areas that practitioners working with adoptive families should pay close attention to including (a) family systems related issues, (b) attachment and trauma related factors, and (c) grief and loss.

Regional adoption agencies

Regional adoption agencies now provide the majority of England's adoption services on behalf of local authorities. Jo Stephenson looks at some of the main findings from Ofsted's sample inspections

Irregular adoptions in the Ethiopian-Spanish context: Strategies to redress the adoption triad

In 2018, the Ethiopian government banned intercountry adoptions due to detected irregularities. This paper draws from the experiences of Spanish adoptive families, providing evidence of these irregularities and other abuses substantiated by adoptive families during their “search for origins” or reconnection with their children’s birth families. We argue that these searches and contacts within the adoptive triad represent informal reparative initiatives among Spanish adoptive families.

An examination of early socioeconomic status and neighborhood disadvantage as independent predictors of antisocial behavior: A longitudinal adoption study.

The present study examined early socioeconomic status (SES) and neighborhood disadvantage (ND) as independent predictors of antisocial behavior (ASB) and addressed the etiology of the associations (i.e., genes versus the environment) using a longitudinal adoption design. Prospective data from the Colorado Adoption Project (435 adoptees, 598 nonadopted children, 526 biological grandparents of adoptees, 481 adoptive parents, and 617 nonadoptive parents including biological parents of unrelated siblings of adoptees) were examined. SES and ND were assessed during infancy and ASB was evaluated from ages four through 16 using parent and teacher report. Associations between predictors and ASB were compared across adoptive and nonadoptive families and sex. Early SES was a nominally significant, independent predictor of antisocial ASB, such that lower SES predicted higher levels of ASB in nonadoptive families only. ND was not associated with ASB. Associations were consistent across aggression and delinquency, and neither SES nor ND was associated with change in ASB over time. Nominally significant associations did not remain significant after controlling for multiple testing. As such, despite nonsignificant differences in associations across sex or adoptive status, we were unable to make definitive conclusions regarding the genetic versus environmental etiology of or sex differences in the influence of SES and ND on ASB. Despite inconclusive findings, in nonadoptees, results were consistent-in effect size and direction-with previous studies in the literature indicating that lower SES is associated with increased risk for ASB.

Exploring the Concept of Parental Investment from an Evolutionary Psychology Perspective with an Emphasis on Investment Strategies for Adoptive Families: A Review of the Literature

Exploring the Concept of Parental Investment from an Evolutionary Psychology Perspective with an Emphasis on Investment Strategies for Adoptive Families: A Review of the Literature

Усыновление детей и молодежи в международном публичном и международном частном праве

The article deals with topical issues of adoption of children and youth in international public and private international law. It is noted that nowadays the cases of international adoptions of children and youth are becoming more and more widespread. Such factors of modern reality as forced migration caused by armed conflicts, increase in the number of orphans, as well as the activities of specialized adoption agencies have contributed to the development of the institution of intercountry adoption.

The Detection of Environmental Influences on Academic Achievement Appears to Depend on the Analytic Approach.

One long-standing analytic approach in adoption studies is to examine correlations between features of adoptive homes and outcomes of adopted children (hereafter termed 'measured environment correlations') to illuminate environmental influences on those associations. Although results from such studies have almost uniformly suggested modest environmental influences on adopted children's academic achievement, other work has indicated that adopted children's achievement is routinely higher than that of their reared-apart family members, often substantially so. We sought to understand this discrepancy. We examined academic achievement and literacy-promotive features of the home in 424 yoked adoptive/biological families participating in the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS; i.e., adopted children, adoptive mothers, birth mothers, and biological siblings of the adopted children remaining in the birth homes) using an exhaustive modeling approach. Results indicated that, as anticipated, adopted children scored up to a full standard deviation higher on standardized achievement tests relative to their birth mothers and reared-apart biological siblings. Moreover, these achievement differences were associated with differences in the literacy-promotive features of the adoptive and birth family homes, despite minimal measured environment correlations within adoptive families. A subsequent simulation study highlighted noise in measured environmental variables as an explanation for the decreased utility of measured environment correlations. We conclude that the field's heavy focus on measured environment correlations within adoptive families may have obscured detection of specific environmental effects on youth outcomes, and that future adoption studies should supplement their measured environment analyses with mean differences between reared-apart relatives.

"We thought we were stronger than we were": adopters' narratives about the adoption journey and disruption.

Although the majority of adoptive families remain stable, some of them break up prematurely. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study gave voice to seven adoption applicants who began the adoption journey with one or more children but did not complete the legal process. Our goal was to understand their experiences throughout the adoption process and disruption. The results show how adoption applicants went, in a short period, from the excitement of finding a child or sibling group to disillusionment and trauma. The main risk factors that hinder adoption stability include unrealistic expectations, intuitive choice of the child in the absence of accurate information, challenges posed by the child's particular characteristics, and lack of professional support. Our study highlights the need for adopters to be assisted throughout the entire process by specialists, to be better prepared to deal with the complex needs of children in the protection system, and to facilitate their access to a complex of specialized services to meet the different needs of every family.

Predicting political beliefs with polygenic scores for cognitive performance and educational attainment

Intelligence is correlated with a range of left-wing and liberal political beliefs. This may suggest intelligence directly alters our political views. Alternatively, the association may be confounded or mediated by socioeconomic and environmental factors. We studied the effect of intelligence within a sample of over 300 biological and adoptive families, using both measured IQ and polygenic scores for cognitive performance and educational attainment. We found both IQ and polygenic scores significantly predicted all six of our political scales. Polygenic scores predicted social liberalism and lower authoritarianism, within-families. Intelligence was able to significantly predict social liberalism and lower authoritarianism, within families, even after controlling for socioeconomic variables. Our findings may provide the strongest causal inference to date of intelligence directly affecting political beliefs.

Adoptive Parent-Child Interaction Quality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study presents findings derived from an investigation into parent-child interactions among Brazilian adoptive families conducted through online recording and analysis. Participating parents enrolled in an online Parental Training Program titled Adoption: Beginning of New Bonds, which emphasized parental reflective function. Data collection spanned from March to November 2021, coinciding with the isolation measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The study aimed to delineate interaction patterns within the sampled group and assess whether any alterations occurred in these patterns pre- and post-program participation. The sample consisted of 23 adoptive parents who had adopted a child under the age of five from the public child welfare system. Video recordings of parent-child free play sessions were collected online both before and after program participation. Results indicated a significant difference in the proportion of parents demonstrating sensitivity toward their child, accompanied by a noticeable trend toward enhanced quality in child interaction with their caregivers. Furthermore, this study offers valuable insights for refining observational instruments within the context of adoption.

KUḺANTAI TATTEṬUPPUT TOṬARPĀṈA CAṬṬA NIYĀYAVIYAL ORU VARALĀṞṞUP PAKUPPĀYVU [THE JURISPRUDENCE OF CHILD ADOPTATION: A HISTORICAL REVIEW

Child adoption has been a longstanding practice in several legal traditions throughout human history. The national progression of child adoption has influenced the corresponding legislative modifications. Examining the Legal Framework of Child Adoption within the Context of Jurisprudence This article provides a historical analysis of the progression toward different legal frameworks. The qualitative examination of pertinent literature is predicated on investigating its content. Both individual countries and international organizations are actively engaged in developing legal frameworks that infringe upon children's rights and compromise their best interests. The adoption laws rooted in the penal code within the common law system have limited efficacy in mitigating instances of child abuse. In addition, international declarations, treaties, legal actions, and established norms protect the rights and interests of adopted children. Utilizing these tools is particularly noteworthy within the context of the intercountry adoption procedure. The legal laws pertaining to adoption have undergone significant development in various aspects, including the criteria for adopter eligibility, the requirement of adopter permission, the determination of adoptive family rights, and the establishment of support obligations.

Historicizing Socially Disabling Experiences of Chinese Adoptees in the United States in the Late One-child Policy Era

Abstract This article explores how the model minority trope impacts the “conditional inclusion” of Chinese adoptees from 1991 to 2015 when mainland China initiated legal overseas Chinese adoption. Intertwined with state-prescribed and sometimes adoptive family's expectation of “a good Asian adoptee,” the model minority trope simultaneously reconnects Chinese adoptees to their Asianness, and yet alienates them at the same time among Asian Americans due to their unique status as migrants through adoption. Utilizing an ethnographic approach to narrate Chinese adoptees’ stories, I draw on oral history interviews with Chinese adoptees, adoptive parents, and adoption facilitators to elucidate how the model minority trope and lucky one rhetoric complicated Chinese adoptees’ lived experiences as adopted Chinese in the United States and their understanding of their ever-evolving identities. Through highlighting the voices of both able-bodied and disable-bodied Chinese adoptees, this article argues that as “non-immigrant immigrants,” Chinese adoptees’ identities are caught between socially disabling biologism and adoptivism, and Chinese-ness and Americanness. Being physically Chinese and culturally (white) American, Chinese adoptees are culturally alienated from within their adoptive family as well as the outside world due to tenuous Sino-American relations and dominant white culture.

Personal Resources, Well-Being, Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms of Youth in Out-Of-Home Care

Abstract: Background: Many youth living in out-of-home care have higher rates of mental health problems and more negative developmental outcomes than youth who live in their biological families. Aims: While previous studies have focused primarily on risk factors that increase the likelihood of behavioral problems, this study focuses on resources that contribute to positive development. Method: As part of the EMPOWERYOU research project, youth aged 11–18 years living in out-of-home care ( n = 79, living in foster and adoptive families and residential groups) and living with their biological families ( n = 71) participated in an online survey. Youth reported on their personal resources, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and well-being. Results: Youth in out-of-home care reported significantly fewer personal resources, less well-being, and more internalizing and especially externalizing symptoms than youth growing up in their biological families. Path analysis results showed that high self-esteem and high self-control were associated with less externalizing symptoms. Lower empathy/perspective-taking and more self-esteem were associated with less internalizing symptoms. More optimism was associated with increased well-being. These relationships were independent of family placement as there was no moderating effect for placement type. Limitations: Potential limitations arise from focusing solely on self-report and using of a cross-sectional design. Conclusion: The results highlight the relevance of promoting the personal resources of youth in out-of-home care. Since the path analysis did not reveal moderation by family placement, possible interventions do not need to be specified for them, but (already existing) effective interventions can be used.

An Integrative Parenting Program for Adoptive Families: A Mixed-method Study

An Integrative Parenting Program for Adoptive Families: A Mixed-method Study

A qualitative exploration of adoptive family practices in contemporary India: the voices of adoptees of closed adoptions

Drawing on an empirical narrative research study, this article illuminates the lived experiences of Indian adoptees of closed adoptions, that is, those who had no contact with their birth parents in the run-up to or following adoption. The findings of five in-depth accounts comprising young adult and adult adoptees present a deep and nuanced understanding of what remains a relatively unexplored area of adoptive family lives in contemporary India practised in an environment where the intricacies of culture and notions of biological ties are privileged over social ties. This article illustrates how the way adoption stories are lived, experienced and shaped contributes to adoptees’ understandings of how to navigate the challenges to confirm their membership in their adoptive families in a situation where these relationships fall under constant suspicion, denial and disapproval. While it is accepted that this non-representative sample cannot reflect wider perspectives of adoptive lives, it nevertheless highlights the inherent complexities and provides a useful springboard for further research.

The Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia: differences in somatic diseases and conditions between adoptees with high or low genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Background and aims There is some evidence that offspring of patients with schizophrenia have higher somatic morbidity, which is thought to be partially due to genetic links between somatic disorders and schizophrenia. This study explored differences in somatic diseases and conditions of adoptees with high genetic risk (HR) or low genetic risk (LR) for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Material and methods The study is part of the Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia. The adoptive research design used made it possible to examine how the somatic health of adoptees raised in similar adoptive families, is affected by their genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia. The study sample consisted of 373 adoptees, of whom 190 had HR and 183 had LR for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Data on somatic morbidity were gathered from the hospital records and from the national registers of the Care Register of Health Care and the Social Insurance Institution. Results The only statistically significant difference found was in genitourinary diseases, the likelihood being twofold higher in HR adoptees compared to LR adoptees (16.8% vs. 8.2%; adj. OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.06–4.25, p = .033). Adoptees who were female and aged over 40 had a higher prevalence of genitourinary illnesses than non-adoptees. Conclusion The significant prevalence of genitourinary diseases in adoptees at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders suggests that some specific somatic diseases and schizophrenia may have a shared hereditary etiology. More research is required for specific somatic diseases in study populations that can differentiate between the effects of genetic and environmental factors.