Identity issues of parents who adopt children internationally.
Item
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Title
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Identity issues of parents who adopt children internationally.
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Identifier
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AAI9924828
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identifier
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9924828
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Creator
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McCarthy, Dolores Elizabeth.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Susan Saegert
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Date
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1999
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Personality | Women's Studies | Geography | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies | Sociology, Individual and Family Studies
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Abstract
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This dissertation investigated how parents who adopt children internationally construct their identities in relation to the adoption. Theories of Urie Bronfenbrenner, D. W. Winnicott, Erik Erikson and Stuart Hall frame the research. Within the ecological perspective of environmental psychology, the experience of these parents is seen at multiple levels and the interpretation of the results draws on object relations approaches of psychoanalysis and social constructionist approaches of cultural studies. Intensive case studies were conducted with 26 parents who adopted children internationally, using multiple research methods including a series of in-depth interviews, home visits, behavioral observations, participant observation, reporting of critical incidents and photographing of cultural objects that represented the birth culture of the child. This research found that parents constructed multiple identities, including the identity of parent, the identity of adoptive parent and the identity of internationally adoptive parent. For some parents, these identities also interacted with other identities, including gender, ethnic/national identity, religious affiliation, sexual preference, national origin, family-of-origin relationships, and urban vs. rural identification. Respondents exhibited a range of identifications with the child's birth culture, from mild to strong. Parents used a variety of "transitional objects" to relate to the child's birth culture, including physical objects, people, places and cultural phenomena. Some parents were already identified with certain birth cultures and chose to adopt children from those birthplaces that reflected these identifications; other parents adopted for more "practical reasons" and constructed their identities during and after the adoption. In general, parents whose children most resembled them in appearance were less likely to identify with the birth culture; those parents who had identified with the birth culture prior to adoption and/or whose children were most different from them in appearance were more likely to identify with the birth culture and use more cultural practices that connected them to the birth culture. The results of this research highlighted the social construction of perceived racial differences between adoptive parent, adopted child and US culture. It also explored the influence of "consumerism" on identity development. The research further demonstrated the use of an ecological model to understand identity issues in person-environment transactions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
