Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2005. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 22, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Gary L. Creasey (chair), Jeanne A. Howard, Susan L. Smith, Adena B. Meyers, Alvin E. House. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-154) and abstract. Also available in print.

<p>The aim with my work was to gain a deeper understanding of some adult adopted children’s experiences and reflections about which role parent ship plays for the adopted child’s development of identity. Following questions have been in focus: What does a working parent ship imply, seen from the perspective of adopted child? In which way can the development of identity for the adopted child be supported by a functional parent ship? Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the two following themes: Support and confirmation. The sample consisted of five foreign-adopted between the age of 18 and 37 years. The result showed that the major part of the interview had a common picture of what a functional parent ship should be in order for an adopted child to have a favourable development of the identity, namely to have an understanding of how it is to be adopted, as being the most important and the sole base for the parent-ship. The discussion concerned obstacles and possibilities for a functional parent ship regarding the adopted child’s development of identity.</p>

The aim with my work was to gain a deeper understanding of some adult adopted children’s experiences and reflections about which role parent ship plays for the adopted child’s development of identity. Following questions have been in focus: What does a working parent ship imply, seen from the perspective of adopted child? In which way can the development of identity for the adopted child be supported by a functional parent ship? Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the two following themes: Support and confirmation. The sample consisted of five foreign-adopted between the age of 18 and 37 years. The result showed that the major part of the interview had a common picture of what a functional parent ship should be in order for an adopted child to have a favourable development of the identity, namely to have an understanding of how it is to be adopted, as being the most important and the sole base for the parent-ship. The discussion concerned obstacles and possibilities for a functional parent ship regarding the adopted child’s development of identity.

The purpose of this study is to find whether there is any truth in the thesis that adopted children from abroad is in greater need of special support, in particular regarding factors that might inhibit the language development that may cause language problems. To achieve knowledge for this study, the methods have been to seek and analyze literature that discusses theories about language development and language socialization. To understand if theory and reality is cohesive, two interviews was conducted with special teachers that have had experiences teaching adopted children, analyzes of the results contra literature has been somewhat important and necessary. To ensure the reliability the interviews was recorded on tape and later transcribed. The results from literature studies indicates that adopted children are more likely to be in need of special support in school due to factors concerning, among other things, adaptation difficulties, language progress and identity. Overall, language progress is depended on children’s total progress that includes physical, emotional and psychological condition. The results of the interviews agree in many aspects and outline the importance of giving such adopted children correct and individual support. The conclusions of this study is that adopted children from abroad can, in some cases, be in need of special support in school, but not necessarily just because they are adopted. Language socialization explains how a language is learned and used and in that sense, it’s very important to be aware of the responsibility you have as a teacher to overview large spread of individuals and their progress.

The objective of this study was to examine symptomatology; stress responses for everyday academic and social stressors; and cognitive coping resources among 11-year-old children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Two groups were established by the amount of time spent within the institutional system. Early adoptees (EAs, n=25) spent less than 6 months while late adoptees (LAs, n=14) endured 6 months or more of institutionalization. A comparison group of non adopted, same-age peers (Canadian Born (CBs), n=25) was included. The first goal was to investigate whether there were differences between EAs and LAs in ratings of symptomatology and stress responses. The second goal was to compare all Romanian adoptees (RAs) to CBs on the same set of factors. The third goal was to identify predictors of symptomatology and predictors of stress responses for RAs only. The main findings were as follows. EAs and LAs did not differ in any symptom ratings or stress responses, showing a lack of evidence for duration of deprivation as a grouping factor. Significant differences were detected by adoption status. Ratings were higher for RAs than CBs in parent-rated symptomatology, including the rate of RAs who exceeded the borderline clinical cut-off. RAs reported less secondary control coping for social stressors than CBs. Models to predict symptoms from stress responses were not supported, with one exception. More disengagement coping for social stress and less involuntary disengagement for academic stress predicted less externalizing and generalized symptoms by teacher report. Models to predict stress responses from cognitive coping resources were significant except for disengagement coping. One of the main findings was that predictors of secondary control coping varied by stressor domain. In conclusion, the findings were important in demonstrating that duration of deprivation does not differentiate between post-institutionalized preadolescents in aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Adoption status is a significant factor. Stress responses do not contribute to models of symptoms. The cognitive coping resources of perceived academic competency and social-support contribute to models of stress responses, yet with room to improve the predictive power of the models. Implications of the findings are discussed along with limitations and directions for future research.

The objective of this study was to examine symptomatology; stress responses for everyday academic and social stressors; and cognitive coping resources among 11-year-old children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Two groups were established by the amount of time spent within the institutional system. Early adoptees (EAs, n=25) spent less than 6 months while late adoptees (LAs, n=14) endured 6 months or more of institutionalization. A comparison group of non adopted, same-age peers (Canadian Born (CBs), n=25) was included. The first goal was to investigate whether there were differences between EAs and LAs in ratings of symptomatology and stress responses. The second goal was to compare all Romanian adoptees (RAs) to CBs on the same set of factors. The third goal was to identify predictors of symptomatology and predictors of stress responses for RAs only. The main findings were as follows. EAs and LAs did not differ in any symptom ratings or stress responses, showing a lack of evidence for duration of deprivation as a grouping factor. Significant differences were detected by adoption status. Ratings were higher for RAs than CBs in parent-rated symptomatology, including the rate of RAs who exceeded the borderline clinical cut-off. RAs reported less secondary control coping for social stressors than CBs. Models to predict symptoms from stress responses were not supported, with one exception. More disengagement coping for social stress and less involuntary disengagement for academic stress predicted less externalizing and generalized symptoms by teacher report. Models to predict stress responses from cognitive coping resources were significant except for disengagement coping. One of the main findings was that predictors of secondary control coping varied by stressor domain. In conclusion, the findings were important in demonstrating that duration of deprivation does not differentiate between post-institutionalized preadolescents in aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Adoption status is a significant factor. Stress responses do not contribute to models of symptoms. The cognitive coping resources of perceived academic competency and social-support contribute to models of stress responses, yet with room to improve the predictive power of the models. Implications of the findings are discussed along with limitations and directions for future research.

Forskningen om internationellt adopterade barn har visat att dessa barn löper en större risk att få språkliga problem, jämfört med sina jämnåriga kamrater. Framförallt har problemen förknippats med svårigheter med abstrakt tänkande, även svårigheter med matematik har uppmärksammats. Forskning visar att de språkliga svårigheterna finns hos närmare hälften av alla internationellt adopterade och det som framkommit är att svårigheterna kan uppstå av två orsaker. De orsakerna som nämnts är i första hand den så kallade språkbrytningen medan den andra orsaken beror på brist på bra mat och uppmärksamhet som ofta uppstår på institutioner såsom exempelvis barnhem. Språksvårigheterna som kan uppstå är dock i de flesta fall möjliga att överbrygga. I detta arbete har intervjuer gjorts med tolv föräldrapar som sammanlagt har 22 internationellt adopterade barn som adopterats mellan tidigt 70-tal och 90-tal. Det som undersökts är i första hand hur många av dessa barn som upplevts haft svårigheter i sin språkliga utveckling utifrån föräldrarnas perspektiv. Intervjuresultaten har sedan jämförts med befintlig forskning och visar att resultaten som framkommit av intervjuerna stämmer bra överens med bilden som ges i forskningen. Nyckelord: internationellt adopterade, språkutveckling, kunskapsutveckling, språksvårigheter.

This study aimed to explore the emotional and behavioral problems of Turkish adoptees and compare them with non-adopted peers raised by their biological parents. To fulfill this aim, 61 adopted children aged between 6-18 were compared to 62 age and gender matched non-adopted children. A second classification was made in terms of being followed in a child psychiatry unit. Both parents were asked to rate their children&rsquo / s problem behaviors on &ldquo / Child Behavior Check List / 6-18&rdquo / , temperament characteristics on &ldquo / School Age Temperament Inventory&rdquo / , their own personality traits on &ldquo / Basic Personality Traits Inventory&rdquo / and own parenting styles on &ldquo / Measure of Child Rearing Styles&rdquo / . Children were asked to rate both parents&rsquo / availability and reliability as attachment figures on &ldquo / Kerns Security Scale&rdquo / and parenting styles on &ldquo / Measure of Child Rearing Styles&rdquo / . Adolescents between ages 11-18, rated their own problem behaviors on &ldquo / Youth Self Report&rdquo / . Group differences and correlations were analyzed. The results indicated non-significant differences between adopted and non-adopted groups in all of the measures. Children in clinical group unit displayed more problem behaviors, were less task persistent and had more activity than children in non-clinical group. Children under 10 years rated their mothers as being more available attachment figure, being more accepting and responsive than their fathers. Contrary to the literature, age of the child at the time of adoption was not found to be related with problem behaviors or attachment relations. On the other hand, results indicated that the older the child learned about her/his adoption status, the more emotional and behavioral problems occurred. Findings of the study were discussed in the frame of relevant literature. Clinical and policy implications were offered.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Education) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

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