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Full-Text Articles in Education

“Do You Know Your Real Parents?” And Other Adoption Microaggressions, Amanda Baden Jan 2016

“Do You Know Your Real Parents?” And Other Adoption Microaggressions, Amanda Baden

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

Myths, fairy tales, films, books, and everyday communication contain images and stories of orphans and adoptees that convey societal discomfort and judgment about adoption (i.e., adoption stigma). In this article, I apply the microaggression model to adoption-related experiences using the literature and theory on adoption stigma. Definitions for adoption-related microaggressions (microassaults, microinvalidations, and microinsults) and a fourth type of microaggression called microfictions (i.e., shared and hidden narratives that contribute to and define the secrecy in adoption) are introduced. Thirteen themes for adoption microaggressions and examples for each are proposed.


Birth Parents In Adoption: Research, Practice, And Counseling Psychology, Amanda Baden, Mary O'Leary Wiley Jan 2005

Birth Parents In Adoption: Research, Practice, And Counseling Psychology, Amanda Baden, Mary O'Leary Wiley

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

This article addresses birth parents in the adoption triad by reviewing and integrating both the clinical and empirical literature from a number of professional disciplines with practice case studies. This review includes literature on the decision to relinquish one’s child for adoption, the early postrelinquishment period, and the effects throughout the lifespan on birth parents. Clinical symptoms for birth parents include unresolved grief, isolation, difficulty with future relationships, and trauma. Some recent research has found that some birth mothers who relinquish tend to fare comparably to those who do not relinquish on external criteria of well-being (e.g., high school graduation …


Breaking The Silence: Advancing Knowledge About Adoption For Counseling Psychologists, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Mary O'Leary Wiley, Karen M. O'Brien, Richard M. Lee Nov 2003

Breaking The Silence: Advancing Knowledge About Adoption For Counseling Psychologists, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Mary O'Leary Wiley, Karen M. O'Brien, Richard M. Lee

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

Provides an introduction to the Major Contribution for this issue of Counseling Psychologist. The Major Contribution consists of an overview article describing the practice of adoption and two detailed reviews of recent empirical literature related to adoptive families and transracial adoptees. Given the prevalence of people affected by adoption, the lack of knowledge regarding adoption among researchers and practitioners, the inattention to adoption research by psychology, and the negative myths about and stigma faced by adoptive triad members, the Major Contribution will have the following as its purposes: (a) to increase awareness of the psychological and sociocultural issues involved in …


The Practice Of Adoption: History, Trends, And Social Context, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Karen M. O'Brien, Mary O'Leary Wiley Nov 2003

The Practice Of Adoption: History, Trends, And Social Context, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Karen M. O'Brien, Mary O'Leary Wiley

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

This article presents an overview of the practice of adoption to counseling psychologists to promote clinical understanding of the adoption experience and to stimulate research on adoption. The article includes definitions of adoption terminology, important historical and legal developments for adoption, a summary of adoption statistics, conceptualizations of adoption experience, themes and trends in adoption outcome research related to adoptees and birthparents, and selected theoretical models of adoption. The importance of considering social context variables in adoption practice and research is emphasized.


The Practice Of Adoption: History, Trends, And Social Context, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Karen M. O'Brien, Mary O'Leary Wiley Nov 2003

The Practice Of Adoption: History, Trends, And Social Context, Amanda Baden, Kathy P. Zamostny, Karen M. O'Brien, Mary O'Leary Wiley

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

This article presents an overview of the practice of adoption to counseling psychologists to promote clinical understanding of the adoption experience and to stimulate research on adoption. The article includes definitions of adoption terminology, important historical and legal developments for adoption, a summary of adoption statistics, conceptualizations of adoption experience, themes and trends in adoption outcome research related to adoptees and birthparents, and selected theoretical models of adoption. The importance of considering social context variables in adoption practice and research is emphasized.