Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Intercountry adoption emerged in Australia in the1970s, at the end of the Vietnam War and with each new decade the adoption ‘community’ and broader society have become more aware of the challenges and complexities of the adoptee experience. It is an area where contemporary preoccupations with issues of identity, kinship relations and concerns about ‘race’ and cultural belonging are being played out. Research on intercountry adoption has, until recent years, been primarily conducted by researchers in the professions of psychology, social work, law and child development. As a consequence these professions have to a large extent influenced and driven public debate and policy in this area. Issues about cultural and racial identity have generally been discussed and problematised either at an individual or familial level ¬how adoptees negotiate issues of racial difference in particular socio-political, historical and cultural contexts is usually missing from these accounts. As intercountry adoption is intricately connected to society’s ideas about race, culture, ethnicity, kinship and belonging -to family and to nation -the disciplines of sociology and anthropology have an important research role to play. This study seeks to problematise the narrow definition of identity that adoptees are usually subject to, attempting to move beyond essentialist notions about the ‘loss of identity’ and ‘loss of culture’ associated with the adoption experience which has tended to promote a discourse of victimisation. Rather, the study asks questions about how particular discourses of race, adoption and identity have impacted on adoptees’ lives and the different modes of belonging adoptees employ to manage their positions of difference. This is a comparative qualitative study using multiple methods of social inquiry. It focuses on two core groups of Australian intercountry adoptees -an adolescent and an adult group -who were born in Vietnam, Korea, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Their life histories are compared by placing their experiences in the broader socio-political and historical contexts of Australia’s immigration policies, adoption policies and history of race relations. Their hybrid experiences are also compared to some transracial adoptees in other Western nations and to some other transnational groups, within the broader body of work on postcolonial identity construction, in an effort to illuminate how intercountry adoptees’ share the ‘third space’ with others who also live through issues about cultural authenticity and the essentialism often associated with identity formation. The study concludes with an alternative reading of the intercountry adoptee experience. It suggests that some adoptees are managing to (re)invent and (re)define their fluid, hybrid identities within the broader context of culturally diverse youth and adults in multicultural Australia and by their membership within other diasporic movements. The study points to the importance of appropriate social support including support from peer groups, family, other adoptees, and the significance of place to adoptees’ sense of belonging. ‘Cultural identity’, as the often quoted Stuart Hall (1990:225) suggests, “is a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being’” and “it belongs to the future as much as to the past”.

This study is a part of the social science program on Linnaeus University. The purpose of this study is to understand how Somali women in Sweden look upon their cultural identity. We also aim to understand how their cultural identity is affected by living there life with an influence from two different cultures. In this perspective we are focusing on how media in Sweden is presenting Somalia and Somali people. The data in this study has been collected through qualitative interviews with 7 Somali women. These women have been identified through a contact person or by the women that has participated in the interviews. The number of women in this survey has been limited by the possibility to find candidates that fitted with the defined research criteria’s. One essential part in our findings is that the women’s view on their cultural identity tends to be dynamic and depending on the situation. Though there might also be a conflict in the women’s feelings towards their cultural identity and ambivalent emotions might be present. We have also concluded that the women see the media picture as one dimensional and negative. The media reflection might have an impact on the identity for the individuals since the self-identity must relate to the stereotyped reflection.

Cette thèse s'intéresse à la "presse féminine noire", c'est-à-dire aux magazines qui s'adressent à des femmes partageant l'expérience sociale d'être perçues comme noires. Elle se fonde sur une analyse des contenus, nourrie par une enquête auprès de lectrices et des producteurs des magazines Amina, Miss Ebène et Brune en France. Entreprises commerciales et supports d'identification, ces médias témoignent de l'existence de consommatrices mais aussi de lectrices en quête de reconnaissance sociale. Leurs ressources publicitaires et leurs conditions de production révèlent une "ligne de couleur" dans la presse féminine française. Ces magazines, qui sont également distribués en Afrique francophone et aux Antilles, s’inscrivent dans un espace qui déborde les frontières nationales tout en assignant leur lectorat à un "entre soi". Les ambiguïtés des représentations qu'ils véhiculent sont inhérentes à la nécessité de relier l'ici à l'ailleurs, de valoriser des singularités phénotypiques tout en se conformant aux critères hégémoniques de la beauté et de soutenir l'émancipation féminine tout en conservant des spécificités culturelles. Cette recherche soulève plus largement les enjeux relatifs à la reconnaissance des minorités comme productrices et réceptrices des médias dans un contexte politique marqué par un idéal universaliste qui ne reconnaît pas leur existence. / The focus of this thesis is on magazines addressing women sharing the social experience of being perceived as black. It is based on a content analysis, fuelled by enquiries on the producers and readers of magazines Amina, Miss Ebène and Brune in France. These magazines are also distributed in francophone Africa and in the Caribbean. Commercial companies and identification supports, these magazine bear witness of the existence of the consumers but also of readers in search of social recognition. The advertising resources and the production conditions of the media reveal the existence of a “colour line” in the French women’s press. The analysis of the representations conveyed by each magazine reveals ambiguities, as much as in the contents as in the positioning, inherent to the need of linking the here and elsewhere promoting phenotypic singularities while conforming to the hegemonic criteria of beauty, supporting the emancipation of women while preserving cultural characteristics. This work, more broadly, raises issues concerning the recognition of minorities as producers and receptors of the media in a political context marked by a Universalist ideal that does not recognize their existence.

This thesis is concerned with cultural connection and its role in creating cultural permanence when planning for Indigenous children and youth in care. Its goal is to mitigate the current path of disconnection and imbalance for Indigenous children and youth in care and to recommend an ecological, holistic approach to child welfare practice. It comprises a literature review that documents theories and practices to support belonging, cultural permanence, and cultural identity for Indigenous children while supporting meaningful connections with family, culture, and community. This information and analysis will be applied to the care of children and youth being served by Northwest Inter-Nation Family and Community Services Society (NIFCS) in British Columbia. The study’s findings will highlight guidance to assist social workers in centering cultural traditions that promote cultural strengths, resiliency, and a sense of belonging for Indigenous children and youth. This thesis will provide suggestions for interacting with the Indigenous community, parents, relatives, workers, and other delegated agencies. Finally, this thesis will explore how one social worker’s dream influences the direction of her practice to build on cultural strengths and spiritual resiliency. / Graduate / 0452 / 0631 / 0628 / kbennett@nifcs.org

This thesis is concerned with cultural connection and its role in creating cultural permanence when planning for Indigenous children and youth in care. Its goal is to mitigate the current path of disconnection and imbalance for Indigenous children and youth in care and to recommend an ecological, holistic approach to child welfare practice. It comprises a literature review that documents theories and practices to support belonging, cultural permanence, and cultural identity for Indigenous children while supporting meaningful connections with family, culture, and community. This information and analysis will be applied to the care of children and youth being served by Northwest Inter-Nation Family and Community Services Society (NIFCS) in British Columbia. The study’s findings will highlight guidance to assist social workers in centering cultural traditions that promote cultural strengths, resiliency, and a sense of belonging for Indigenous children and youth. This thesis will provide suggestions for interacting with the Indigenous community, parents, relatives, workers, and other delegated agencies. Finally, this thesis will explore how one social worker’s dream influences the direction of her practice to build on cultural strengths and spiritual resiliency. / Graduate / 0452 / 0631 / 0628 / kbennett@nifcs.org

Les adoptions internationales constituent un mode d'entrée particulier dans la filiation, mettant en exergue tous les questionnements universels touchant à la question de la filiation et forçant à l'élaboration de l'essence même du lien familial.La littérature sur l'adoption concerne principalement le devenir des enfants adoptés, en termes de développement psychologique et d'apparition de troubles psychopathologiques. Au sein de cette littérature, de nombreuses études, principalement anglo-saxonnes, se sont focalisées sur la question de l'identité culturelle des enfants adoptés, soulignant la corrélation entre identité biculturelle positive et forte (culture du pays de naissance et culture du pays d'accueil) et meilleur développement psychologique ultérieur.La notion d'identité culturelle des enfants adoptés est en revanche absente de la littérature française. Pourtant il semble difficile d'occulter la place que vient prendre, pour les parents comme pour les enfants, le pays de naissance de l'enfant et sa culture, ainsi que les conséquences, sur la construction identitaire de l'enfant, de se voir attribuer un statut d'étranger du seul fait de sa différence « visible ». Il semble alors nécessaire de complexifier la question culturelle en s'appuyant, non pas sur des postulats théoriques ou idéologiques, mais sur le discours des familles. Comment les familles appréhendent-elles la question des appartenances culturelles et de l'altérité de l'enfant adopté dans le cadre d'une adoption internationale ? Quels liens gardent-elles avec le pays de naissance de l'enfant et sa culture ? Ce travail de recherche s'inscrit dans une approche méthodologique qualitative et s'est focalisé sur le discours des parents adoptants, l'objectif étant de mieux comprendre leurs positions quant aux appartenances culturelles de leur enfant. 66 entretiens semi-structurés ont été recueillis auprès de parents ayant adopté au moins un enfant dans un autre pays que la France, de façon plénière. Le guide d'entretien explore le parcours de l'adoption, le choix du pays, le voyage dans le pays de naissance de l'enfant, les éléments connus de l'histoire de vie de l'enfant avant l'adoption, les liens au pays de naissance de l'enfant, à sa culture, les éventuelles expériences de racisme et de discrimination vécues par l'enfant. La méthode d'analyse du contenu des entretiens est une méthode qualitative, phénoménologique : l'Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.Les résultats de ce travail s'articulent autour de trois publications.Une première publication consiste en une revue de la littérature sur le concept d'identité culturelle chez les enfants en situation d'adoption internationale.La deuxième publication décrit les positions parentales retrouvées dans notre étude, quant aux liens gardés ou non avec le pays de naissance de l'enfant et sa culture, positions mises en évidence par l'analyse phénoménologique des entretiens. Trois grands types de représentations parentales sont retrouvés.Enfin une troisième publication met en évidence la présence, dans plus de la moitié des entretiens, d'expériences difficiles et violentes pour les parents, potentiellement traumatiques, au moment des premières rencontres avec l'enfant lors du voyage dans le pays de naissance. Les conséquences sur la construction des interactions familiales sont discutées.La discussion porte sur la notion de représentations parentales, fil rouge de ce travail, ainsi que sur les modalités de complexification de la question culturelle : à quel point la question de la culture vient-elle porter ou déplacer la question filiative ? En quoi parler de culture peut-il se confondre avec la question de la visibilité de l'adoption ?Ce travail de recherche a des conséquences directes sur la prise en charge et l'accompagnement des familles adoptantes. En effet représentations parentales et interactions familiales sont intimement liées et jouent un rôle déterminant dans le développement de l'enfant. / International adoption is a specific way to belong to a new filiation. Numerous studies have looked at various aspects of the internationally adopted children's outcome. Some studies have sought to show a correlation between the strength of their cultural identity and their psychological development. However the ethnic and cultural identity subject is missing in French research. Furthermore very few studies have examined the adopted children's cultural identity from the adoptive parents' perspective. The objective of this study is to use parents' discourse to explore their representations of their child's cultural belonging.The study includes 51 French parents who adopted one or more children internationally. Each parent participated in a semi-structured interview. The broad topics covered included the adoption procedure, the choice of country, the trip to the child's native country, the child's history before adoption, the current associations with the child's country of birth, the experiences of racism and discrimination. The sample includes 66 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed according to a qualitative phenomenological method, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.The data were published in two original publications and one article has been submitted for publication: The first paper is a review of the cultural identity concept in the population of internationally adopted children.The second paper aims at describing three different parental representations of the child's cultural belonging.The third paper concerns the first parent-child encounters and highlights the difficult, sometimes traumatic experiences made then. We discuss parental representations, and the importance of complexifying the birth culture concept. Is questioning the birth culture replacing questioning the birth parents or even the perceivable physical differences between parents and children? Exploring parental representations of the adopted child enables professionals involved in adoption to provide better support to these families and do preventive work at the level of family interactions.

I media under de senaste åren har en mörk bild av unga svensk-somalier vuxit fram bland annat kopplat till gängkriminalitet. Det påverkar även de unga svensk-somalier som inte hamnat snett. Som en kontrast till dem som hamnat i kriminalitet, arbetslöshet och utanförskap lyfts svensk-somaliska högskolestudenter fram i denna studie. Syftet var att skapa förståelse för deras identitetsskapande och upplevelse av meningsfullhet samt hur det påverkar deras välbefinnande. Studien utgick ifrån ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv och analyserades med hjälp av teorierna KASAM och social identitetsteori samt begreppen etnicitet, mellanförskap och dubbel kulturell tillhörighet. Metoden var kvalitativ och kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 10 respondenter. Respondenterna var högskolestuderande med svensk-somalisk ursprung i åldern 21-24 år. Resultatet visade att etnicitet, religionstillhörighet, familj, vänner och föreningsliv varit viktigt i identitetsskapandet. Religion, familj och målmedvetenhet beskrevs som viktiga delar för att skapa meningsfullhet. Dessutom var det vanligt att motgångar och negativt bemötande vändes till en motivationskälla. De framgångsfaktorer för välbefinnande som framkom var gemenskap, socialt stöd, tro, målmedvetenhet och att vända motgångar till motivation. / In the media in the recent years, a negative picture of young Somali-Swedes has emerged, among other things linked to gang crime. It also affects the young Somali-Swedes who have not gone astray. As a contrast to those who ended up in crime, unemployment and exclusion, Somali-Swedish university students are highlighted in this study. The aim was to create an understanding of their identity formation and experience of meaningfulness and how it affects their well-being. The study was based on a social psychological perspective and has been analyzed with the help of the theories Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Social Identity Theory (SIT) as well as the concepts of ethnicity, in-betweenness and dual cultural belonging. The method was qualitative and qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten respondents. The respondents were university students of Somali-Swedish origin aged 21-24. The results showed that ethnicity, religious affiliation, family, friends and participation in civic society were important in the formation of identity. Religion, family and sense of purpose were described as important elements in creating meaning. In addition, it was common that adversity and negative treatment were turned into a source of motivation. The factors of success for well-being that were found were community, social support, faith, purposefulness and turning adversity into motivation.