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Articles 1 - 30 of 53
Full-Text Articles in Psychology
The Archeology Of Adoption: Tracing The Journey From Birth Through Adoption Using Pre-Adoptive Artifacts, Ellen Reeve
The Archeology Of Adoption: Tracing The Journey From Birth Through Adoption Using Pre-Adoptive Artifacts, Ellen Reeve
Educational Studies Dissertations
Adults adopted in childhood often face a heightened susceptibility to psychological and behavioral challenges compared with their non-adopted peers. Scholars examining this phenomenon associate various factors, including an adoptee’s sense of self as an individual within a complex adoption background. This qualitative study utilized a material engagement theory to explore birth through adoptive narratives among adults adopted in closed settings during childhood. Through participatory research, participants examined a range of artifacts related to maternal relinquishment, encompassing foster and adoption records, original birth certificates, letters, photographs, birthmarks, clothing, hair, scars, and DNA test results. The study focused on understanding these artifacts’ …
The Predictive Effect Of Parent Closeness On Substance Use For Coping In Adoptees: An Application Of Motivational Models Of Substance Use, Alison B. Klein
The Predictive Effect Of Parent Closeness On Substance Use For Coping In Adoptees: An Application Of Motivational Models Of Substance Use, Alison B. Klein
Psychology Theses
To explain a previously observed triad of substance abuse, adoption, and poor mental health adjustment in adoptees, the proposed study applies the Substance Use Motivation Model. This model would suggest that adoptees are motivated to use substances to negatively reinforce (remove or mitigate) depression and anxiety symptomology. Parent closeness is an established protective factor against negative mental health symptomology and substance use, suggesting closeness may influence the relationship between negative mental health symptomology and motivations to use substances for coping. To test this relationship, 100 adoptees were administered the Substance Use Motives Measure (SUMM), the Personal Health Questionaire-9 (Depression), the …
The Untended Garden: How Adoptees Navigate Relationships With First Family Members, Dawn Michele Mccormick Tracz
The Untended Garden: How Adoptees Navigate Relationships With First Family Members, Dawn Michele Mccormick Tracz
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
This research explores how people who were adopted over the age of 6 years old in open adoption arrangements navigate ongoing relationships with first family members. It explores perceptions of how a connection with both adoptive and first family members impacts self-concept. Using an interpretivist-constructivist lens, the narratives of four women are presented and analyzed. In addition to qualitative interviews, each participant was invited to create images that represented relationships with significant family members. The narratives are re-presented in detail adhering closely to the teller’s organization and emphases. In the analysis, themes related to relationships with first family members and …
Nicu Experiences Of Adoptive Parents & Desired Preparation, Catherine J. Howe
Nicu Experiences Of Adoptive Parents & Desired Preparation, Catherine J. Howe
MSU Graduate Theses
Parents who have newborns admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) have multiple experiences and emotions. Additional social and emotional layers are experienced by adoptive couples when the infant they wish to adopt needs specialized care. This research study was completed to find out what adoptive parents experience in the NICU and what preparation would have been helpful. The method included semi-structured, open-ended interviews with seven couples who adopted a newborn at a Midwestern adoption agency within the past three years and had a NICU experience. The results described adoptive couples’ experiences on the unit, bonding and attachment, fears …
Adult Transracial Adoptees' Childhood Experiences And Decision-Making In Forming Families Of Creation, Sarah J. Gray
Adult Transracial Adoptees' Childhood Experiences And Decision-Making In Forming Families Of Creation, Sarah J. Gray
MSU Graduate Theses
This study examined adult transracial adoptees’ (TRAs) childhood experiences and determined how specific factors influenced their likelihood to choose biological procreation, adoption, fostering, a combination of these options, or the choice to be child-free when forming their own families. These adoptees were Black, Indigenous and people of color adopted by white parents in the United States through domestic or international adoption. Childhood experiences included the TRAs’ sense of belonging, cultural socialization, and preparation for bias. The only dependent variable option predicted by a childhood experience was the preference to be child-free. TRAs who experienced higher levels of belonging were less …
Parent School Involvement, Student School Engagement, And Academic Achievement In Children Adopted From Foster Care By Lesbian And Gay Parents, Cassandra P. Vazquez
Parent School Involvement, Student School Engagement, And Academic Achievement In Children Adopted From Foster Care By Lesbian And Gay Parents, Cassandra P. Vazquez
Theses and Dissertations--Psychology
Sparse research has examined academic outcomes of children adopted from foster care by lesbian and gay (LG) parents. Children who have experienced foster care are at greater risk for negative outcomes, but investment in academic achievement could help buffer potential adversity. Parent and student engagement with school peaks in middle childhood, so this may be an important period for understanding processes that influence academic achievement. This study explores how LG parents (N = 57) of school-aged children (Mage = 10.56 years) adopted from foster care in the U.S. involve themselves in their child’s school, how this involvement may …
“They Let Me Loose, Will You Hold Me Tight?” Adult Adoptees And Their Romantic Partners' Experience Of Attachment After Participating In The Hmt Program, Bethany Baker
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Adult adoptees may be blocked from feeling securely attached to their romantic partners and they may not even know it or what to do about it. The literature shows adult adoptees being overrepresented in insecure attachment styles, and not enough attention has been paid to the effect this has had on adoptees in their romantic relationships. In fact, no known study, to date, has provided an attachment-based psychoeducational approach for this marginalized population. The purpose of this introductory qualitative study was to explore the experiences and meaning-making of attachment, specifically related to adoption, for the adult adoptee and their romantic …
Book Review: The Science Of Parenting Adopted Children, Nathanael Davis
Book Review: The Science Of Parenting Adopted Children, Nathanael Davis
Library Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
The Lived Experiences Of Caregivers Of Children With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Abby Baumgart
The Lived Experiences Of Caregivers Of Children With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Abby Baumgart
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Parents of children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) encounter challenges in parenting and parent-child relationship development that are not typical to most parental situations. The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of caregivers of children with RAD, to identify current met and unmet needs, to explore the experiences the caregivers of children with RAD have and the resources available to them. The study included a hermeneutic phenomenological foundation and incorporated the conceptual frameworks of family systems theory and attachment theory. A nonprobability, self-selection sampling strategy was utilized with recruitment through Facebook support groups. Methods included …
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Korean Adoptees’ Multiple Minority Identities, Jared Utley
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Korean Adoptees’ Multiple Minority Identities, Jared Utley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Since the end of the Korean War, Korean children have been placed for international adoption due to their marginalized status in South Korea. In the United States, Korean children have predominantly been adopted to White families through transracial adoption (Bergquist, 2003; Lee, 2003). Transracial adoption describes the process of children being placed in a home where there are racial differences with one or both adoptive parents. Through international transracial adoption, Korean adoptees may undergo events that impact the salience and development of multiple minority identities, including: racial, ethnic, cultural, and as an adoptee. These experiences may be shaped by interactions …
Treatment Considerations For Adoption-Related Complex Trauma, Jessica Reyka
Treatment Considerations For Adoption-Related Complex Trauma, Jessica Reyka
Dissertations
The western culture holds many assumptions related to adoption; however, it is clear based on the research provided that adoption and the circumstances leading up to being adopted often leave the child traumatized. Many adopted individuals and adoptive families seek mental health services in order to help address some of the symptoms that have manifested through traumatic events. However, the services they are receiving are reportedly lacking in basic knowledge related to adoption and have, at times, done more harm than good. As clinicians, it is important to acknowledge one's scope of clinical competence and to only treat individuals that …
Dissociation, Identity Distress, And Rejection Sensitivity In Adult Adoptees, Lee J. Mclamb
Dissociation, Identity Distress, And Rejection Sensitivity In Adult Adoptees, Lee J. Mclamb
Digital Repository: Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence
No abstract provided.
A Survey Of Dissociation, Identity Distress, And Rejection Sensitivity In Adult Adoptees, Lee J. Mclamb
A Survey Of Dissociation, Identity Distress, And Rejection Sensitivity In Adult Adoptees, Lee J. Mclamb
Honors Undergraduate Theses
This study quantitatively measures dissociation, rejection sensitivity, and identity distress among adults who experienced adoption as a child and the relationship between these factors. This study also compares groups of adoptees recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and social media to assess whether these two recruitment methods achieve similar results. An online survey was conducted of adopted adults and non-adopted adults to serve as controls using both MTurk and social media. A total of 539 participants were recruited representing 151 non-adopted individuals recruited exclusively through Mturk, and 388 adoptees, 247 of whom were recruited through MTurk and 141 through social …
How Children Describe Negative Adoption Experiences, Mckenzie Paskett
How Children Describe Negative Adoption Experiences, Mckenzie Paskett
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Adoption faces stigmas from society which affects peoples' perceptions of adoptees, their birth parents, and adoptive parent s; one of the most prominent being that adoption is the "second best" route to getting children (Baxter, Norwood, Asbury, & Scharp , 2014). Adoption success is mixed with some adapting well, while others have negative experience s. Studying themes about how and why negative adoption experiences happen could be beneficial to preventing them in the future. There is a unique perspective between parents and children and so the central research question for this study is: how do children describe their negative adoption …
Understanding Relational Competence In Emerging Adult Adoptees: A New Way To Conceptualize Competence In Close Relationships, Krystal K. Cashen
Understanding Relational Competence In Emerging Adult Adoptees: A New Way To Conceptualize Competence In Close Relationships, Krystal K. Cashen
Masters Theses
Relatively little research has focused on the positive adjustment of emerging adult adoptees (Palacios & Brodzinsky, 2010). Given the developmental context of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000), it is important to select a measure of adjustment that reflects the increased ambiguity seen in this time period. The present study aims to develop and validate a measure of relational competence, or competence in one’s closest relationship regardless of relationship type (i.e., romantic vs. nonromantic). This measure will be created by adapting the Romantic Competence Interview, a measure of romantic competence previously used with emerging adults (Shulman, Davila, & Shachar-Shapira, 2011). Participants …
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Parent Experiences That Influence Positive Adoption Outcomes, Deena Shelton
A Phenomenological Exploration Of Parent Experiences That Influence Positive Adoption Outcomes, Deena Shelton
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Children who age out of foster care face adjustments and mental health issues at higher rates than their peers, but those who are adopted have the opportunity to heal from previous trauma and experience better outcomes. To create healthy family systems for adopted children, adoptive parents need support and guidance as they personally adjust and help their children adjust to a new family system. Previous research has focused on child identifiers rather than on the broader family system in efforts to understand adoption success and failure. In this transcendental phenomenological study, adoptive parents provided their lived experiences of support during …
Attitudes And Actions That Adoptive Parents Perceive As Helpful In The Process Of Raising Their Internationally Adopted Adolescent, Marina V. Kuzmina
Attitudes And Actions That Adoptive Parents Perceive As Helpful In The Process Of Raising Their Internationally Adopted Adolescent, Marina V. Kuzmina
Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations
This phenomenological dissertation study explored the lived experiences of adoptive parents in the process of raising their internationally adopted adolescents. The researcher interviewed 9 participants. Criteria for selection of the research sample included having personal experience with parenting one or more international adolescents adopted at age 10 or older and raising these adolescents for at least two years following such adoption. Data analysis included steps suggested by Moustakas (1994) and the participation of a research team and external auditor. According to the recommendations of Lincoln and Guba (1985), several strategies for trustworthiness were implemented during this course of the study. …
The Effects Of Transracial Adoption On Adjustment And Identity Development, Krystle Dandridge
The Effects Of Transracial Adoption On Adjustment And Identity Development, Krystle Dandridge
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
A plethora of studies have focused on transracial adoption. While these studies have looked at identity development and/or adjustment, they lacked the investigation into some possible causes to include feelings of belongingness as well as socioeconomic status. The current study explored the lack of cultural socialization and belongingness of people adopted into an environment culturally dissimilar from their birth culture. The nonexperimental, correlational design study examined the relationship between adjustment and identity development, and the impact of transracial adoption when considering socioeconomic status and skin tone. The New Immigrant Survey Skin Color Scale, Multiethnic Identity Measure, and Measure of Psychosocial …
Transracial Adoptees’ Thoughts On Culturally Competent Parenting, Molly Conley
Transracial Adoptees’ Thoughts On Culturally Competent Parenting, Molly Conley
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Transracial adoption, the adoption of a child of a different race than those of the adoptive parents, occurs in approximately 40% of all adoptions. While transracial adoption alone is not sufficient to cause mental health concerns, it does pose a series of unique challenges that can impact self-esteem, racial identity, and sense of belonging in adoptees. Much of the research on adoption focuses on adoptive parents, collecting quantitative data from adoptees, and mental health professionals’ views of adoptees’ experiences. This study elicited feedback from adult transracial adoptees on Vonk’s 2001 model of culturally competent parenting. Data were interpreted using Interpretive …
The Role Of Adoptive Identity In Career Development Of College And Non-College Individuals, Yesel Yoon
The Role Of Adoptive Identity In Career Development Of College And Non-College Individuals, Yesel Yoon
Doctoral Dissertations
Identity development is a particularly salient developmental task that begins to take form during adolescence, and consolidation of multiple domains of identity is necessary for achieving successful outcomes in adulthood (Erikson, 1968). The purpose of this study was to examine the role of an ascribed adoptive identity on the individualization of one’s chosen career identity. Adoptive identity was examined using both individual and family-level factors, and career identity was measured across adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood. The present study used a sub-sample of adoptees, adoptive mothers, and adoptive fathers from an ongoing longitudinal research study, the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Program …
Ptsd From Childhood Trauma As A Precursor To Attachment Issues, Christy Owen
Ptsd From Childhood Trauma As A Precursor To Attachment Issues, Christy Owen
Fidei et Veritatis: The Liberty University Journal of Graduate Research
The past 20 years have been turbulent regarding Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), with conflicting research about its causes, effects, treatment, and prognosis. The current diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 fails to adequately address this disorder. A number of deviant and maladaptive behaviors common amongst children with RAD are not even mentioned in the diagnostic criteria. As such, the diagnostic definition is almost unidentifiable or incompatible with real-life conduct manifestations of the disorder. Rather, this author contends that RAD is foundationally a unique and extreme form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Early Childhood Trauma. The child endured unspeakable neglect and/or …
The Effects Of Conspecifics On Dog (Canis Lupus Familiaris) Behavior During Behavioral Rehabilitation Treatments, Breanna Schultz
The Effects Of Conspecifics On Dog (Canis Lupus Familiaris) Behavior During Behavioral Rehabilitation Treatments, Breanna Schultz
Theses and Dissertations
With high dog euthanasia rates increasing adoption is a significant animal welfare issue that finding methods to treat fearful animals from cruelty cases could help. This study examined the effects of conspecific presence on dogs in behavioral rehabilitation and found significant differences in boldness-fearfulness and solicitation and proximity behaviors.
Perspectives On Adoption From Christian Adoptive Parents: A Qualitative Study, Ruth L. Markham, Kelley C. Pugh, Valerie A. Sohn, Emily N. Gentry
Perspectives On Adoption From Christian Adoptive Parents: A Qualitative Study, Ruth L. Markham, Kelley C. Pugh, Valerie A. Sohn, Emily N. Gentry
The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)
Although adoption has long been studied, the rising current evangelical trend of adopting has brought about a new series of questions, mostly pertaining to, “What is it like to be a Christian adoptive parent?” The research goals were to understand how faith motivates one’s decision to adopt and the assimilation of the adopted child into the family, to examine the parallels between theological adoption and human experience adoption, and to see if parents have a qualitatively different kind of bonding or affection for their biological and adoptive children. This qualitative research study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with practicing Christians …
The Remembered Experience Of Adoption: Factors Supporting Healthy Adjustment, Crystal R. Gonsalves
The Remembered Experience Of Adoption: Factors Supporting Healthy Adjustment, Crystal R. Gonsalves
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
This qualitative research study is designed to explore ideas, customs, and practices related to adoption from the perspective of adult adoptees. While many studies seek to explain the negative impact of adoption, minimal literature exists with regard to a phenomenological exploration of adoption practices that successfully promote healthy adjustment and a sense of resilience and well-being in adopted children. Existing research on adoption has largely been conducted quantitatively, which can fail to capture the personal, lived experience of a positive adoption experience that leads to healthy adjustment. Specifically, little is known about which factors of the adoption experience adoptees perceive …
An Attachment Style Based Experimental Design To Maximize Dog Adoption Success, Claire Weinman
An Attachment Style Based Experimental Design To Maximize Dog Adoption Success, Claire Weinman
Senior Projects Fall 2015
Evolution and domestication have brought dogs very close to humans. Research has found numerous behavioral, cognitive, neurological, and physiological similarities between the two species. Additional research has found that humans and dogs can share cross-species attachments that are comparable to mother-infant attachments. Furthermore, attachment styles in dogs are classified the same way they are in children. The statistics on the vast amount of dogs in animal shelters, too many of which are being senselessly killed, are shocking. I propose a two-part study that first assesses which attachment style pairings are most successful and which are unsuccessful based on measurements of …
Challenges Of Child Trauma On Adoptive Families' Social And Emotional System, Jacqueline Yvonne Ford
Challenges Of Child Trauma On Adoptive Families' Social And Emotional System, Jacqueline Yvonne Ford
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Adoption-focused psychoeducation is deemed essential in maintaining the permanency of traumatized children within a new family unit. However, adoptive parents of traumatized children struggle to find training to address their unique concerns. Guided by the lens of psychodynamic theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by adoptive families of traumatized children. Special focus was placed on the social and emotional relationships of the adoptive parents of traumatized children, to identify the realistic expectations towards attachment from the families' perspectives. Fifteen families were randomly selected to participate in this study from a group of 30 parents …
Testing In Adoption Evaluations: Selections And Usage Determined From Surveying Psychologists, Erin Marie Sylvester Nichting
Testing In Adoption Evaluations: Selections And Usage Determined From Surveying Psychologists, Erin Marie Sylvester Nichting
Browse all Theses and Dissertations
A significant amount of children are adopted each year both within the United States and internationally. In fact, the United States Department of State reported that 242,602 international adoptions had taken place from 1999 to 2012 and also indicated that in 2012 alone, 52,035 children had been adopted domestically. However, research is lacking in many areas of the adoption process. One such area includes an absence of knowledge in regards to adoption evaluations, even though they may be required for both prospective parents and adoptive children during the adoption process. Another area includes how psychological instruments are incorporated into these …
Individuation As An Adolescent Developmental Task: Associations With Adoptee Adjustment, Danila Musante
Individuation As An Adolescent Developmental Task: Associations With Adoptee Adjustment, Danila Musante
Doctoral Dissertations
This study evaluated the associations between adolescent individuation and concurrent and long term adjustment in adoptive families. Individuation was assessed using an observational measure examining behaviors and communications demonstrative of individuality and connectedness between each parent and the adolescent. Findings did not support the hypothesized connection between adolescent individuation and concurrent and long term adjustment in adoptive families. However, further analyses revealed particular importance of connectedness between adolescent and parent for adolescent adjustment, which was found to vary by adolescent gender. Specifically, analyses revealed that gender interacts with both adolescent-father connectedness and mother-adolescent connectedness in predicting adolescent internalizing symptoms; for …
Emotion In Adoption Narratives: Links To Close Relationships In Emerging Adulthood, Holly A. Grant-Marsney
Emotion In Adoption Narratives: Links To Close Relationships In Emerging Adulthood, Holly A. Grant-Marsney
Doctoral Dissertations
An adopted person develops a narrative or story to help make sense of his or her adoption. This narrative provides a window into how the adoptee understands the role of adoption in his or her life and articulates feelings and thoughts about it. Adolescent and emerging adult adoptees’ data from the Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP) were examined. MTARP longitudinally followed 190 adoptive kinship networks, with varying levels of openness in the adoption, from childhood to emerging adulthood. The current study sought to understand how emotion (affective valence and specific emotions), as identified in the adoption narratives during adolescence and …
The Lived Experience Of Adoption: Do Current Conceptualizations Reflect Changing Realities?, Quade Y. S. French
The Lived Experience Of Adoption: Do Current Conceptualizations Reflect Changing Realities?, Quade Y. S. French
Doctoral Dissertations
The lived experiences of four adopted college undergraduates were documented through a series of semi-structured interviews across a two-year period. Participants were interviewed during their engagement as mentors in an adoption-specific mentoring program (the Adoption Mentoring Program, AMP) in which they were each paired with an adopted child from the community in one-to-one relationships. Importantly, participation in the mentoring program offered mentors a chance to connect with same-aged peers around issues of adoption research, theory, and experiences. Participation in this program is viewed as a marked change in the social context of adoption experienced by participants; this social change provided …