Minding the (Information) Gap: What Do Emerging Adult Adoptees Want to Know About Their Birth Parents?

Abstract

The formation of an adoption information gap was examined for a group of 169 emerging adults (M?=?25.0?years) who were adopted as infants. Participants completed interviews and questionnaires at adolescence and emerging adulthood (late teens to 20s). The Adoption Curiosity Pathway model guided research questions about formation of an adoption information gap, which exists when there is a difference between what an adopted person knows and what he or she desires to know regarding his or her adoption. In addition, specific issues were identified about which emerging adults were curious. Differences in these specific issues were examined across gender and openness arrangement with birth parents at emerging adulthood. The most frequently sought information was medical and health history. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the formation of an adoption information gap, which contains the specific items of curiosity, was more likely for those who were less satisfied with the amount of openness with birth parents during both adolescence and emerging adulthood. Implications for practice are presented.     

The Importance of Adoption for Nurturing and Enhancing the Emotional and Intellectual Potential of Children

ABSTRACT

The present review examines whether the weight of the evidence indicates that adoption is, indeed, a benefit to the child. Several comparison groups have been used. In a number of studies, in United Kingdom, U.S.A. and India amongst others, a comparison has been made of the outcome of the child in his/her adoptive family to what it would have been had that child remained in her/his biological family, or in an institutional setting. Analyzing all the results, adopted children seem to function better than institutional children or children restored to their biological family.     

Studies of the maintenance of subsidized foster placements in the Casey Family Program

The Casey Family Program provides a planned, long-term approach to subsidized foster care for the underachievers of the child welfare system. Its concept is a marriage of what foster care professionals know about effectively helping children and what managers know about effectively running organizations. The purpose of our studies of The Casey Family Program was to determine whether the outcomes of its foster placements were predictable from factors that could be known, at least in principle, at the time the placements were made. We built statistical models of placement maintenance based upon characteristics of (a) the foster child; (b) his or her biological family; and (c) the foster family. We used two main sources of data to construct models: archival material on the child and his or her biological family, and caseworker ratings of various aspects of the child and his or her foster family. Information was derived from a sample of 51 children served by the Montana Division of The Casey Family Program to build the models, which in general provided accurate predictions of placement outcomes. The models were then cross-validated with a sample of 55 children from the Idaho Division. There was a substantial amount of shrinkage in the variance accounted for in the cross-validation sample, but outcomes remained largely predictable. To determine whether predictions of placement outcomes could be based upon brief assessments of factors that could be evaluated at the time placements were made, a third study was undertaken. The results of that study implied that ratings of salient characteristics of foster children and foster families based upon as little as a single day's observation could be used to effectively predict placement outcomes. Several aspects of these studies deserve special emphasis. First, the research confirmed that the children served by the Montana and Idaho divisions of TCFP were among the underachievers of the child welfare system whom Jim Casey desired to reach. It also confirmed that the Montana and Idaho divisions were doing an effective job of serving those children. Their placements were generally stable and both foster children and foster families were rated as functioning at levels that ranged from acceptable to good.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents: The Joint Task of Revisiting the Adoption History

Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thirty-four couples consisting of one adopted and one non-adopted partner, now parents, were interviewed and a graphic instrument, the Double Moon Test, was administered. Results revealed that most couples showed a shared attitude in valorizing both the origin background and the adoptive family. However, in a number of cases a divergent position emerged, highlighting the crucial role of the non-adopted partner in encouraging the adoptee to revisit his/her adoption history. Overall, the practical relevance of the research findings is discussed and future direction of research are suggested.     

Paradoxes, locations and the need for social coherence: a qualitative study of living with a learning difficulty

Policy rhetoric over recent decades has promoted social inclusion of the more vulnerable sectors of society, such as people with learning difficulties. This study aimed to describe the experiences of people who live with learning difficulties in order to inform local service development. Thirty-five people with a learning difficulty and/or a family member were interviewed. A model of social coherence was developed that moves beyond the self-limiting debates about social inclusion and exclusion. It is underpinned by a sense of location for the person with a disability in relation to services and carers, family and community, dependency and risk, temporality and space, events, control and society. Key recommendations are for services to know the individual and his/her family; to be responsive to individual needs; to enhance the capacity of families and communities to support people with difficulty in learning; and to help these people to feel more valued.     

The effect of current sexual behavior on friendship,dating, and marriage desirability

The purpose of this research was to extend previous studies examining the influence of a person's sexual behavior on others' perceptions of his/ her relationship desirability. Over 750 students from three universities judged the friendship, dating, and marriage desirability of a person based on information ostensibly provided by him/her about current sexual activity. Overall, the results indicated that a target person portrayed as engaging in low sexual activity in a current relationship was perceived to be more desirable as a friend and marriage partner than a person engaging in moderate or high sexual activity, whereas moderate or high sexual activity was preferred more in a dating partner. Whether the sexual activity occurred in a casual or steady dating relationship, however, also affected desirability perceptions. Finally, evidence was found for a reverse double standard in ratings of dating desirability: males were perceived as most desirable as a date when they engaged in moderate sexual activity, whereas females were perceived as most desirable as a date when they engaged in high sexual activity.     

Making a “Real” Family

Abstract

This paper discusses the policy of matching as it has influenced American adoption practice. The word “matching” is shorthand for a set of assumptions built around the principle that when a child is “like” her or his adoptive parents, the adoption will be successful. The policy involves establishing criteria for likeness; traits upon which likeness has been based include, explicitly, race, ethnicity, and religion, and, implicity, class. My article shows how, as race became the primary criterion of likeness, matching linked adoption with broader issues in American culture and politics. Resting on a biological model, racial matching reflects changing views of racial equality and of “multiculturalism.” My paper also asks how the increasingly articulated experiences of adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoptees in the 1980s and 1990s impinge on the implementation of matching by social workers, lawyers, and other experts involved in adoption. In conclusion, I speculate on the future interconnections between racial matching, genetic engineering, and ideologies of “biological destiny” reappearing in American culture.     

‘Irregular Adoptions’ in Chile: New Political Narratives About The Right To Know One's Origins

This article examines the background of ‘irregular’ adoptions in Chile and the recent dispute process of political narratives about this topic, in the context of Chilean adoption policies and practices. Special focus is on how the adoption policies and practices have caused serious human rights violations in particular to the child's rights to know one's origins. The article discusses the design and implementation of recognition, justice and reparation policies, for the prevention of future risks associated with these irregular practices.     

Comparing Opinions of People with Developmental Disabilities and Significant Persons in their Lives Using the Individual Supports Identification System (ISIS)

Fifty-two people with developmental disabilities were interviewed using the Individual Supports Identification System (ISIS). This study reports on persons with developmental disabilities, served by the State of Washington Division of Developmental Disabilities, and includes persons whose onset of disability was prior to 18. To be eligible for services, an individual must have a disability that falls within one of the following categories: (1) mental retardation; (2) cerebral palsy; (3) epilepsy; (4) autism; and (5) other types of central nervous system impairment closely related to mental retardation. Interviews were conducted with two groups. The first comprised individuals with developmental disabilities and the second, significant persons in the life of each participant in the first group. A significant person was considered to be someone known by the individual with disabilities for more than 6 months, spending more time with him or her than others. In addition, the significant person must like the individual with disabilities, and have his or her best interests in mind. Seventy-five per cent of significant persons interviewed were parents. Significant persons also responded to a series of ISIS questions. Responses from the individual with disabilities and from the significant person in his or her life were compared in order to determine similarities and differences in perspective. Comparisons focus on issues pertaining to friends and relationships, living environment and daily care needs.     

The Judgments of David Bergelson

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I read the Yiddish author David Bergelson’s statements at his secret trial through the lens of his own earlier fiction about Soviet justice, especially his novel Judgment. I examine Bergelson’s self-fashioning as a Jewish writer and how he uses his own Jewish background as a justification for his failures as a Soviet person. I offer some contextualization of Bergelson’s statements in light of other trials of other writers both before and after 1952, and compare his declaration of love for Yiddish with other, similar expressions. Bergelson does not merely defend himself, he creates a memory about his legacy for the future.     

Ethical Adoption Practice

Abstract

Dr. Paul Denhalter completed his doctoral candidacy research on adoptive family attachment and entitlement. Nineteen parents were interviewed about what elements of adoptive family life contributed to a sense of entitlement. The act of care giving increased entitlement; negative comments from others about adoption tended to decrease it. In his social work practice, Dr. Denhalter counseled adoptive and birth families and advocated education, counseling and support for successful open adoption relationships. His positive perspective on adoption included his father's adoption at age five. Dr. Denhalter was critical of the current trends in adoption that have pathologized adoption for political purposes. He emphasized the results of the Search Institute's study that had positive conclusions about adopted children as well as a blueprint for successful adoptive families to follow.     

Self and other: The importance of social interaction and social relationships in shaping the experience of early-stage Alzheimer's disease

Various factors influence how individuals experience illness. Especially important, however, is the reaction of others whose response shapes the meaning of the illness for the person who is ill, and the impact it will have on her or his sense of self. Adopting a symbolic interactionist perspective, and drawing on data obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with nine individuals living with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, this paper examines how others’ reactions to and treatment of persons living with the condition can influence how they experience dementia. The findings reveal that the majority of the participants did not believe others’ treatment of them had substantially changed, nor did most express the level of concern about the possible negative response of others reported in other studies. Within their relationships and social interactions participants received the essential support, cooperation, and encouragement that enabled them to create meaning in life and sustain identity.     

The vicissitudes of adoption for parents and children

This paper attempts to illustrate how adoption is understood by children according to their developmental stages within the context of their families. Illustrations of children's thought processes and inner fantasies are presented in the form of interviews and observations. The inner thoughts and experiences of adoptive parents are also presented, from the time of the application process through infancy, toddlerhood, school age and adolescence. A major thesis is that adoptive parents who are comfortable with their own feelings about the birthparents and the child's specific history are more able to provide an atmosphere where the child feels valued when she asks questions or communicates fantasies about her story. In this manner adoption is integrated into the child's growing self-esteem and, as time goes on, the adoption becomes less important.The author wishes to thank Lynn Borenstein, L.C.S.W. for her helpful suggestions. Marilyn Silin, M.A. is on the faculty of The Institute for Clinical Social Work.     

Injured and Silenced: Working with Workers' Compensation Claimants and Their Families

It is not uncommon for rehabilitation and workers' compensation systems to treat the injured worker as either a passive victim or a mischievous malingerer. Much ofthe literatureregardingrehabilitation ofpeople with chronic pain and soft tissue injury speaks of paralysis and powerlessness as if the injured person is a piece offlotsam buffeted about by the socialforces of WorkCare (and other compensation systems), the employer and the medical legal systems. This paper will review the pertinent literature and demonstrate the lack ofobjective supportfor a ‘blame-thevictim’ attitude. The importance of the injured person playing an active role in his/her rehabilitation will be emphasised through a systematic analysis ofthe impact ofthe WorkCare scheme on the injured worker and their treatment. In this light, a systems based approach to therapy with injured workers and their families will be outlined.     

首都青年责任意识调查分析

责任的主体必须是一个被赋予相应权利的主体，这个主体必须是自由、理性之公民。只有在“公民”的前提下，才能谈及所应负有的责任。责任意识是“我”对自己所应负有的责任的认识，这是主体意识的一个重要体现。通过对首都青年责任意识的调研分析，可知责任意识直接与受教育状况有关。政府和社会要为青年提供一个良好的有利于发展的社会环境，加强对青年的责任意识教育。     

Putting the Logos to Work: A Reply to Meyer

Abstract

Journalist Janet Malcolm recently published several articles and a book in which she accused her own profession of manipulation and deceit in its listening and interviewing practices. Specifically, she focused on the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, on which Joe McGinniss' book, Fatal Vision, was based. McGinniss, she claimed, fostered a close and seemingly empathic relationship with the accused in order to betray him later—and in this event Malcolm saw the prototypical journalist-interviewee relationship. Her accusations about the role of journalism raised intense professional scrutiny. This essay examines the case from the standpoint of journalistic listening. Are the temptations for deceptive or “slanted” empathy inherent in the journalistic interview? Does the journalist have a responsibility not only to listen to the person being interviewed, but to “listen” equally well to the demands of a developing story—as if it, too, were a living entity? Do ethical standards within journalism demand that an interviewer's listening style, especially as it is seen in empathic behavior, be congruent with his or her unexpressed conclusions?     

Surveys on Surveys: Limitations and Potentialities

Data from two surveys on surveys in Waterloo, Ontario were usedto assess attitudes toward the survey. Questions in the twosurveys inquired into motives for refusing/consenting to interviews;attitudes toward past experience with surveys; likes/dislikesof form of contact, question format, and topic; perception ofsocial pressure to respond to surveys; views on the social legitimacyof polling and on legislative controls for surveying. The surveysalso collected response histories. Analysis of the attitudesbegan with a factor analysis of 12 items, which identified fourfactors descending from the general to the particular. It wasfound that attitudes are related to exposure to surveying, i.e.,the more times a person reports requests for survey cooperation,the more unfavorable is his or her attitude toward the method.On the whole, however, the author finds that the evidence presentedbelies pessimistic views about surveys on surveys.     

Who Is Adopted?

ABSTRACT

There are several advantages of using large representative samples to study adoption-related issues, and existing databases are increasingly used for this purpose. Large scale surveys are often limited, however, in the number and type of questions that are asked regarding adoption. Conceptual and methodological issues in measuring adoption status are discussed, and a rich new database-the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health)-is used to illustrate these complexities. In Add Health school survey data, adolescents were asked a direct question about whether or not they were adopted and whether they lived with biological parents. During home interviews, adolescents were not asked about adoption status per se, but they could be classified as adopted if they lived with adoptive rather than biological parents. Parents' and adolescents' reports of adoption status and living arrangements are compared in Add Health data to illustrate the complexities of measuring adoption status when using archival data. For research to be scientifically credible and to enhance the accumulation of knowledge, investigators need to be precise about the concepts and measures they use in studying adoption-related issues, particularly when using previously collected survey data.     

THE DIFFUSION OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY: SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS AND POLICY RESEARCH

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how social network analysis can be used to provide information for policy decisions pertaining to physicians' adoption and utilization of new medical technology. Interviews and hospital records were used to obtain data on refenals, consultations, discussions, and on-call coverage; utilization of a computer-based hospital information system; and personal and practice characteristics from 24 physicians who belong to a private group practice. The results of a block-model analysis suggest that the physician's relative position in the network is an important determinant of his/her participation in the diffusion process. A number of policy implications related to the introduction of new medical technology into practice settings are discussed.