A QUESTION OF IDENTITY: ADOPTION AS A DISTINCT

CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONSARA W. BAILEY, BA, & ALLISON FORTI, PHD, LPC, NCC

Today we will:

• Talk about attitudes and experiences with adoption.

• Look at adoption in popular culture.

• Review adoption statistics, history, and law.

• Discuss specific challenges that adoptees may face.

• Examine the strengths that adoptees may possess.

• Explore adoption-sensitive language.

• Assess the value of adoption pre-screening at intake.

• Learn from one another.

Take a moment to consider…

What does adoption mean to you?

Take a moment to consider…

What does adoption mean to you?

Where do those beliefs come from?

Adoption on the screen

www.hallmark.com;www.greetingcarduniverse.com

Adoption at your local retailer

Celebs who have adoptedchildren

Lana Turner and Joan Crawford

Debbie Harry Steve Jobs

Icons:

Take a moment to consider…

What is adoption?

Take a moment to consider…

What is adoption?

 "Adoption" means the creation by law of the relationship of parent and child

between two individuals.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_48/GS_48-1-101.html

Adoption by the Numbers:

• About half of pregnancies are unintended (Guttmacher; CDC)

• 2010: 2.3% of children under 18 were adopted (US Census)

• 5 million Americans alive today are adoptees (Herman, 2006)

• 1970: 175,000 nonrelative adoptions annually (Herman, 2006)

• 1980’s and beyond: 125,000 annually (Herman, 2006)

• 2013: 7092 international adoptions (US State Dept.)

Adoption Law:

• Minnesota Adoption Law of 1917 (Herman, 2006)

• By 1945, records were automatically sealed. (Herman, 2006)

• Open-record legislation is ongoing in many states.

Challenges:

• Adoption ghosts (Lifton, 2007; Schachter, S. R., & Schachter, J. A., 2011)

• Attachment (Feeney et al, 2007; Borders et al, 2000; Howe, 2001; Levy-Shiff, 2001; Caspers et al, 2007)

• Stigma of illegitimacy

• Decision to have children

• Lack of access to genetic history, cultural history, up-to-date health history

• Harder time navigating Erickson’s stage “identity vs. role confusion.” (Passmore, 2004)

• Ambiguous loss (Boss, 2009)

• Search and reunion (Penny et al, 2007)

• Adopted Child Syndrome (Kirschner, 1996)

Strengths:

• Adoptees do tend to fare well. (Borders, et al, 2000; Feeney, et al)

• Healthy relationships help alleviate attachment difficulties. (Feeney, et al)

• Adoptees may have very rich fantasy lives. (Lifton, 2010)

• Not knowing where you come from gives you permission to be anyone!

• There can be unique opportunities for self-discovery and personal growth.

Language Matters:• Do you know your real parents?• Blood is thicker than water.• At least you weren’t aborted.• Why do you want to search? Don’t you love your adoptive parents?• You are lucky, because you were chosen.• You were “put up for adoption.”• He’s getting a forever home.

What’s in a Name?Birthmother? Natural mother? Biological mother? Bio-mom? First mother? Relinquishing parent?Adoptive parents? Adopters? Second mother? Active parent? Functional parent?Adoptee? Adult adoptee? Adopted child? A child who is adopted? Relinquished child?

Triggers: Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Bar/Bat MitzvahLife transitions (graduation, weddings, promotions, job loss)Pregnancy, fertility challenges, childbirth

Intake?

Should the question be asked?

How should the question be phrased?

Advantages? Disadvantages?

So where do we go from here?

• Assess personal opinions about adoption• Consider how culture influences attitudes about

adoption• Be sensitive to challenges in adoption• Be open to and flexible with updating language• Take a look at intake screening practices

Today we:

• Talked about attitudes and experiences with

adoption.

• Looked at adoption in popular culture.

• Reviewed adoption statistics, history, and law.

• Discussed specific challenges that adoptees may

face.

• Examined the strengths that adoptees may possess.

• Explored adoption-sensitive language.

• Assessed the value of adoption pre-screening at

intake.

• Learned from one another.

http://www.americanhistoryusa.com/adoptions-in-america-open-or-closed/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/twin-brothers-separated-at-birth-reveal-striking-genetic-similarities/http://www.amfor.net/killers/https://suite.io/amy-sillup/3qrw2hkhttp://adoption.about.com/od/adoptionissues/a/dmcinterview.htmhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000501/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049426/Steve-Jobs-dead-Birth-mother-Joanne-Simpson-does-know-son-died.htmlhttp://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/confidentiality.htmhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p20-572.pdfhttp://www.bastards.org/bb-do-birth-parents-have-a-right-to-privacy/http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/nsap/Brief3/rb.pdfhttp://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/03_01_12.PDFhttp://adoptionsupport.org/index.php/the-tac-training-for-adoption-competency/http://adoptioninstitute.org/old/publications/2013_08_ANeedToKnow.pdfhttp://adoptionsupport.org/index.php/the-tac-training-for-adoption-competency/#wherehttp://www.amfor.net/acs/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/01/29/article-1131282-0090EBB200000259-377_468x447.jpg

References: websites

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-ligtvoet/adoption-child-welfare-or-business_b_4804779.htmlhttp://adoption.state.gov/about_us/statistics.phphttp://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Unintended-Pregnancy-US.htmlhttp://www.imdb.com/list/ls002818521/http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/that-hes-adopted-one-liner-in-the-avengers-not-funny/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Seed_(1956_film)www.poptower.comhttp://shop.hallmark.com/search/?q=adoptionwww.greetingcarduniverse.comhttp://derringermedia.com/images/dmc/image02.pdfhttp://www.ambiguousloss.com/four_questions.phphttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/28/article-0-0956E506000005DC-309_468x619.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/25/article-0-0BC194D5000005DC-450_468x572.jpghttp://amradaronline.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/sheryl-crow-adopted-children.jpghttp://www-hollybaby-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/101911_mariska111019150701.jpghttp://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/445crawford.pnghttp://www.examiner.com/article/georgia-tann-adoption-architect-child-advocate-and-baby-killer

References: websites, cont.

Andrews, I. (2010). Secondary infertility and birth mothers. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 30(1), 80-93.Borders, L. D., Penny, J. M., & Portnoy, F. (2000). Adult adoptees and their friends: Current functioning and psychosocial wellbeing. Family Relations, 49, 407-418.Caspers, K., Yucuis, R., Troutman, B., Arndt, S., & Langbehn, D. (2007). A sibling adoption study of adult attachment: The influence of shared environment on attachment states of mind. Attachment & Human Development, 9(4), 375-391. doi:10.1080/14616730701711581Farr, R. H., Grant-Marsney, H. A., Musante, D. S., Grotevant, H. D., & Wrobel, G. (2014). Adoptees’

contact with birth relatives in emerging adulthood. Journal Of Adolescent Research, 29(1), 45-66. doi:10.1177/0743558413487588Feeney, J. A., Passmore, N. L., & Peterson, C. C. (2007). Adoption, attachment, and relationship concerns: A study of adult adoptees. Personal Relationships, 14(1), 129-147.

doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00145.xHowe, D. (2001). Age at placement, adoption experience and adult adopted people’s contact with

their adoptive and birth mothers: An attachment perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 3(2), 222-237. doi:10.1080/14616730110058025Jordan, C., & Dempsey, M. (2013). Exploring experiences of adoption: Emerging implications for

therapeutic practice. Counselling Psychology Review, 28(1), 37-46.Levy-Shiff, R. (2001). Psychological adjustment of adoptees in adulthood: Family environment and

adoption-related correlates. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(2), 97-104. doi:10.1080/01650250042000131

References: articles

References: articles, cont.Lifton, B. (2007). The inner life of the adopted child: Adoption, trauma, loss, fantasy, search, and

reunion. In R. A. Javier, A. L. Baden, F. A. Biafora, A. Camacho-Gingerich (Eds.) , Handbook of Adoption: Implications for Researchers, Practitioners, and Families (pp. 418-424). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc.Lifton, B. (2010). Ghosts in the adopted family. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 30(1), 71-79. doi:10.1080/07351690903200176Loehlin, J. C., Horn, J. M., & Ernst, J. L. (2007). Genetic and environmental influences on adult life

outcomes: Evidence from the Texas adoption project. Behavior Genetics, (11). 463-476. doi:10.1007/s10519-007-9144-5

Loehlin, J. C., Horn, J. M., & Ernst, J. L. (2009). Antecedents of children’s adult outcomes in the Texas adoption project. Journal of Personality, 77(1). doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00536.xMarch, K. (2014). Birth mother grief and the challenge of adoption reunion contact. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(4), 409-419. doi:10.1037/ort0000013Nickman, S. L. (1985). Losses in adoption: The need for dialogue. The Psychoanalytic Study Of The

Child, 40365-398.Passmore, N. L. (2004). Adoption and the Father Heart of God: Helping Adoptees Deal With Issues of Identity and Loss. Journal Of Psychology And Christianity, 23(2), 165-175.Penny, J., Borders, L. D., & Portnoy, F. (2007). Reconstruction of adoption issues: Delineation of five

phases among adult adoptees. Journal of Counseling & Development, 85.

References: articles, cont.Richmond, C. J., Jordan, S., Bischof, G. H., & Sauer, E. M. (2014). Effects of solution-focused versus

problem-focused intake questions on pre-treatment change. Journal Of Systemic Therapies, 33(1), 33-47. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2014.33.1.33Schachter, S. R., & Schachter, J. A. (2011). Adoption: A life begun with loss. In D. L. Harris (Ed.) , Counting our losses: Reflecting on change, loss, and transition in everyday life (pp. 75-91). New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.Shallcross, L. (2011). Forging family bonds. Counseling Today, 53, 38–41.Siskind, D. (2006). The world of adoption: An introduction. In K. Husion, S. B. Sherman, & D. Siskind (Eds.), Understanding adoption (pp. 3–9). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Stiffler, L. H. (1993). Adoptees and birthparents connected by design: Surprising synchronicities in

histories of union/loss/reunion.Journal Of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health, 7(4), 267-286.Sue, D., Capodilupo, C., Torino, G., Bucceri, J., Holder, A., Nadal, K., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial

Microaggressions In Everyday Life: Implications For Clinical Practice. American Psychologist, 271- 286.Von Korff, L., Grotevant, H. D., & McRoy, R. G. (2006). Openness arrangements and psychological

adjustment in adolescent adoptees. Journal Of Family Psychology, 20(3), 531-534. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.531

Fessler, A. ( 2006). The girls who went away: The hidden history of women who surrendered children for adoption in the decades before Roe vs Wade. New York, NY: Penguin Press.Friddle, A., Andrews, J., & Hamilton, K. (2008). Back to the beginning. Scottsdale, AZ; Research Etc., Inc.Herman, E. (2008). Kinship by design: A history of adoption in the modern United States. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.Jones, M. B. (1993). Birthmothers: Women who have relinquished babies for adoption tell their stories. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.com, Inc.Lifton, B. J. (1975). Twice born: Memoirs of an adopted daughter. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

McKay, L. B. (1998). Shadow mothers: Stories of adoption and reunion. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press.Soll, J. (2000). Adoption healing. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc.Strauss, J. A. S. (1994). Birthright: The guide to search and reunion for adoptees, birthparents, and

adoptive parents. New York, NY: Penguin Books.Verrier, N. N. (1993). The primal wound: Understanding the adopted child. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc.

References: books