Till Sverige har det idag från utlandet adopterats ca 49 500 personer. Bland dessa personer har psykisk ohälsa och social problematik visat sig vara vanligt förekommande. I Folkhälsorapport 2009 uppmärksammas att barn som adopteras från länder utanför Europa vårdas två till tre gånger så ofta på sjukhus under ungdomsåren på grund av psykiatrisk sjuklighet, som ungdomar födda i Sverige. När det handlar om hälsa hos adopterade är det viktigt att beakta den speciella livssituation som det innebär att vara adopterad. Internationellt adopterade individer växer ofta upp i familjer med bättre socioekonomiska förhållanden, än den genomsnittliga ungdomen i Sverige. Trots det så talas det om en ökad sårbarhet hos adopterade. Avsikten med denna uppsats var att beskriva hur vuxna internationellt adopterade upplever sin hälsa, samt på vilket sätt de anser att situationen som adopterad påverkar hälsan. Intresset var att betrakta hälsa ur ett fysiskt, psykiskt och socialt perspektiv. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med tio vuxna informanter, adopterade från länder utanför Europa. Data analyserades med innehållsanalys, där det framkom olika teman. Dessa var: upplevd hälsostatus, faktorer som påverkar hälsan, samt: tankar kring hur situationen som adopterad påverkar hälsan. Av resultatet framgick att informanterna upplever sin hälsa som god. Faktorer som har inverkan på informanternas hälsa är bland annat kost, fysisk aktivitet, stressnivå och att ha goda sociala nätverk. Det förekom en medvetenhet hos informanterna om att situationen som adopterad kan bidra till ohälsa, även om de framhåller att det inte berör dem själva. Omständigheter kring att ha ett avvikande utseende framkom som den främsta orsaken till att situationen som adopterad påverkar den psykiska hälsan. / Today, Sweden has an estimated 49 500 adoptees from overseas. According to reports, many of these adoptees experience mental ill-health as well as social problems. The 2009 Public Health Report indicated that children adopted from countries outside Europe had two to three times higher risk of hospitalization during adolescence due to psychiatric morbidity as compared to those born in Sweden. International adoptees often grow up in families with better socioeconomic conditions, than the average youth in Sweden.  However, evidence shows that they experience increased vulnerability. The purpose of this study was to describe how adult international adoptees perceive their health and how they think the situation as an adoptee affect health. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten informants who were adopted from countries outside Europe. Data were analyzed using content analysis, which revealed various themes (perceived health status; factors that affect health and thoughts how the situation as an adoptee affect health). Results showed that respondents perceived their health as good. Informants perceived health, including diet, physical activity, stress level and having good social networks as factors which had impact on their health and well being. Furthermore there was recognition by informants that the situation as an adoptee can contribute to ill health, although they stressed that it did not concern themselves. However, many referred that their appearance had a significant impact on their psychological well-being.

Ur ett symbolisk interaktionistiskt perspektiv är människan en social varelse som lever i ett samhälle som är under ständigt skapande. I det samhälle där individen genom interaktion både formas och skapas är samhälle och individ tätt förenade vilket är den utgångspunkt vi genomgående valt att förhålla oss till i denna antologi. Antologin belyser omställningar i livet genom fyra olika bidrag. Agnesa Abrashis bidrag heter ”Ett nytt skede i livet – en studie om identitet och moderskap” och behandlar hur mammor ser på sitt identitetsskapande. Annika Sternlund tar upp adopterades syn på sitt identitetsskapande och sina livsvillkor i bidraget ”Rötterna är där hjärtat rotar sig”. Amanda Sundberg belyser i sitt bidrag ”Som barn var man ju förväntansfull – en studie om individer som immigrerat vid unga år” fem immigranters brott i livet i och med flytten till ett nytt land. Helenas Valentinsons bidrag "Man känner ju i benen och det att man inte är 17 år längre" handlar om de förändringar som sker när en individ blir pensionär. Gemensamt för antologin är även att vi relaterar identitetsskapandet i förhållande till tillhörighet och utanförskap. Slutsatsen för denna studie är att individens livsvillkor påverkas av faser i livet vilket inverkar på identitetsskapandet. På så sätt ses identiteten som något föränderligt.

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.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sweden was a major recipient of children adopted from abroad. Many of these children originate in countries in Asia and South America and have now grown up and are in their 50s. Over the years, there have been different opinions about how these children should or can fit into Swedish society and what consequences it can have for the children. I have in various contexts during my life come into contact with other visibly expatriates who experience a feeling of belonging but still not. That one is expected to be and feel Swedish but that society and people in the environment do not really allow it to happen. Over the years, several voices have also discussed mental illness, relationship vulnerability, a sense of exclusion and an experience that something "is broken". This is something that has affected me and that has led to my curiosity about exploring the area more deeply. The purpose of this study is to investigate how transnationally adopted women perceive their self-image. Seven interviews have been conducted with visibly foreign adopted women born in India, Thailand, Colombia, and British Guiana. All respondents have come to Sweden before or at the age of two. The results have been analyzed using social psychological theory, symbolic interactionism, and theoretical thoughts by Goffman. The first research question was about what factors in the adopted family image can be used as a basis for the influence of the self-image. Family-related factors that have had an impact are both the family structure and composition themselves, but also events during childhood and childhood. The significant others have proven to be of great importance for the conditions given for building a safe and positive self-image. For some, early separation experiences have set a mark when later in life they have experienced separation anxiety and in some cases relationship vulnerability to others. The second research question was to find out which factors in the adoptee’s interaction with society can be the basis for the influence of the self-image. The adoptee’s interaction with society has been shown to influence the self-image as the surroundings contribute to a tangible middle-class relationship. Not all respondents are affected by the prejudices and beliefs of the environment as they have different resistance to vulnerability, prejudice, and normative beliefs. However, most people feel that prejudice from the environment affects self-image and creates what Goffman describes as stigma. The mental health is affected by a combination of family and society, as the significant other has a major impact on how the child navigates the outside world. Mental health seems to be influenced by growing up conditions and opportunities to explore ones internal. Finally, it has been shown that the respondents' self-image is very much influenced by the environment's ability to "stamp" the respondents through boundless curiosity and questioning.

Vi har en uppfattning om att internationell adoption och internationellt adopterade ofta associeras med TV4:s tv-program Spårlöst. Det gör att programmet har stort inflytande över vilken bild av adoption och adopterade som sänds ut i media. Vi har därför valt att göra en kvalitativ textanalys som undersöker hur Spårlöst framställer internationell adoption och internationellt adopterade. Syftet med studien är att synliggöra och kritiskt granska framställningarna. Vi hoppas att studien ska bidra till ett mediesamhälle som inkluderar adoption och adopterade mer. Studien bygger på konstruktivism och dess inriktning socialkonstruktionism. Studiens analysmaterial är valt utifrån avsnitten som visades under säsongen hösten 2016 med hjälp av den dramaturgiska kurvan. Genom att använda oss av hermeneutiken kan vi tolka textens innehåll och urskilja framställningarna i programmet. Tolkningarna stöds även av barmhärtighetsprincipen. Studiens slutsatser är att internationell adoption främst framställs som en väg till bättre förutsättningar, men också som en vinstdrivande verksamhet och som osäkert. Ytterligare slutsatser är att adopterade ofta framställs som positiva till sin adoption. Adopterade framställs även som identitetssökande och nyfikna personer, men också som personer som värdesätter familjerelationer. / Our perception is that international adoption and international adoptees often are associated with the tv-program Spårlöst shown on TV4. This could mean that the program may have a great influence over the images of adoption and adoptees shown in media. Therefore, we have chosen to do a qualitative text analysis which examines how Spårlöst portrays international adoption and international adoptees. The purpose of the study is to highlight and critically view the portrayals. We hope our study will contribute to a more including media society concerning adoption and adoptees. The study is based on constructivism and its orientation on social constructionism. The study’s analytical material is chosen from the episodes that were shown in the fall season of 2016 by using the dramaturgical curve. We can interpret the content of the text and distinguish the portrayals in the program by using the hermeneutics. The interpretations are also supported by the principle of charity. The study’s conclusions are that international adoption mainly is portrayed as a way to better conditions, but also as a profit organization and as unsafe. Further conclusions are that adoptees often are portrayed as positive towards their adoption. The adoptees are also portrayed as identity seeking and curious people. The study also shows that adoptees value relationships within the family.

Adoptive parents need to be able to reflect on the interaction with the child, both from the perspective of their own relational experience with the child and from the perspective of the previous experience of the child. This essay explores five adoptive parent´s thoughts and feelings about their children’s background. It also looks into how they think that the children’s background influences their way of expressing their needs and how this makes the parents feel. Data has been collected through semi-structured interviews which have been analyzed using thematic analysis. The thoughts and feelings around the children’s background mainly concerns how the children were taken care of prior to the adoption and the birth parents. The parents expressed feelings of sadness and sorrow regarding how the children were taken care of prior to the adoption. Thinking of how it could have been for the children gave rise to strong emotions. The parents expressed sympathy and sorrow but also rivalry, envy and anger towards the birth parents. They describe different behaviors’ and expressions that the children have and how they think that these may be related to the experiences the children had prior to the adoption. The parents describe what the children’s behaviors and expressions arouse within themselves. They tell about strong somatic and dissociative reactions, feelings of guilt, uncertainty and insufficiency. The parents also describe how the interaction with their children reminds them of painful experiences from their own childhood. The accounts show the importance of the parents´ ability to mentalise and how they think about needs that the children don´t express.

This study’s aim was to identify what racialized adoptees experience as strategies and support in relation to racially differentiating expressions (racism). Data was collected using qualitative interviews with five racialized transracially adopted adults. The transcriptions from the interviews were analyzed via thematic analysis. The theoretical approach was based in critical race theory and postcolonial theory. Identified strategies was modification of the body, use of adoptionhood, identity, silence, violence and knowledge of racism. Identified sources of support was other racialized people, white people with special relations to the respondents, the adoptive parents, the LGBTQ-community, separatist rooms for people of colour and the internet. White people are described as a particular group with less ability to give support. The study’s results show that racialized adoptees have little support in their immediate environment and have to develop strategies mostly on their own.