Thesis+Based+Research+Assignment


 * Rationale for Research / Introduction (5 pts)**

Why did you go down this research path? - I choose to use opposing viewpoints for my preliminary research because it supplies me with many different sides to an argument, allowing me to keep an open mind while searching through my topic.

What driving question guided your research? - My driving question was How does one being adopted affect one’s family life? Does it make the child any less theirs?

What more specific questions had to be answered before finally answering this driving questions? - Have there been psychological studies on adopted children? What have their studies shown? - How have families with adopted children grown? Stronger or weaker? - What are the common issues most families run into?


 * Research**

A. "Adoption's effects on cognitive development in children." //eSSORTMENT//. N.p., 2002. Web. 7 Oct. 2009. .

1. The findings of the study suggested that problems with cognitive development in adopted children were substantially influenced by the adoptive parents ' reasons, motivations and attitudes towards adoption.

2. Babies exposed to drugs, abuse, neglect, and those with genetic pre-dispositions to mental illness and physical disabilities are deemed "at-risk" before the adoptive parents even come into the picture. 3. Despite the early influences that may inhibit a child's cognitive development before and after a child is adopted, the situation can always be rectified as long as it is identified and dealt with in the proper manner.

4. Adopted children who have not even neared this phase of their lives yet are often labeled an "at-risk", which is a child who, though currently having no visible problems in development, is at risk of developing learning, emotional, behavioral or physical disabilities in the future.

B. "Common Clinical Issues Among Adoptees Who Have Recieved Psychological Treatment." //Adoption.com//. Adoption Directory, 1995. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

1. Disrupted attachment of feelings of disconnectedness (especially in delayed adoptions). With Infant adoptions there is a sense of ambiguous attachment, a tenuous sense of attachment. Even if loved, an adoptee may feel like they don't fit in or belong in the family.

2. Feelings of rejection, Understanding concept of relinquishment

3. Damaged self-image, low self-esteem. Thinking, feeling, acting rejected, sees self as "damaged goods." "I must have done something horrible to have been sent away from my (birth)-mother."

4. Problems in identity development. Physical/psychological similarities and dissimilarities. Who am I like? Where do I belong? fit in?

C. W., Angela. "International Adoption Statistics for 2007." //Adoption Under One// //Roof//. N.p., 4 Feb. 2008. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

1. In 2007 42% of children were adopted from Asia - Dominican Republic -Hong Kong -India -Iran -Japan -Korea -Nepal -Pakistan -Philippines -Taiwan -Thailand -Vietnam

2. 27% were adoption from North America (including Central America, and the Caribbean. - Dominican Republic -El Salvador -Guatemala -Haiti -Honduras -Jamaica -Mexico

3. 20% of children were adopted from European Countries. -Armenia -Bulgaria -Estonia -Hungary -Kazakhstan -Kyrgyzstan -Latvia -Lithuania -Moldova -Poland -Russia -Ukraine -Uzbekistan

4. 9% of children were adopted from Africa -Cameroon -Ethiopia -Ghana -Kenya -Nigeria -Sierra Leone -Uganda -Zambia

D. "Closed Adoption Can Sow Bitterness and Discontent." //Current Controversies:Issues in Adoption.// Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.// Gale. Springfield Township High School. 5 Oct. 2009 

1. It has become customary in open adoptions for the prospective adoptive parents to develop a relationship with the woman who is carrying the child who may end up being theirs.

2. Nancy Verrier (adoptive mother) thinks that such a close relationship between prospective adoptive parents and a pregnant woman can end up being subtly coercive and strongly believes that adoptive parents should not be in the delivery room.

3. Many of today's open adoption facilitated by attorneys, there is virtually no encouragement of an ongoing relationship between the birth mother and the adoptee after the birth of the baby

4. "Even the most perfect adoption carries a weighty emotional legacy:

E. Dalen, Monica. "the State of Knowledge Of Foreign Adoptions." //Adoption//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2009. .

1. The adoption of foreign children started in Scandinavia around 30 years ago, and a total of 65,000 children hae been adopted into these countries.

2. Sweden has the highest number, with 35,000 foreign adoptees.

3. Research into international adoptions started at the beginning of the 1970's in those countries that were the first to adopt children from other countries (the USA and Sweden.)

4. A disproportional large share of adoption research is based on clinical material, i.e. on parents or children who have sought psychiatric or psychiatric or psychological help.

F. Oak, Manali. "The Effects of Adoption." //Buzzle.com//. N.p., 5 May 2008. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .

1. Major issues triggered by adoption are loss, rejection, guilt and grief. 2. Effects of international adoption include the outbreak of malpractices such as child trafficking and sale of children 3. Apart from these there is lack of intimacy in the new relationship. There is a feeling of loss of control. Identity crisis can trouble the adoptee. Many of the issues intrinsic to the adoption experience come together when the adoptee reaches adolescence. 4. Loss triggered by adoption is the loss of ones identity, one’s separation from his or her birth family. For the birthparents, it’s the loss of their child. A feeling of rejection worsens the feeling of loss. Adoptive parents feel rejected to be parents. Both adoptive parents and birthparents experience role confusion. The sense of rejection leads to a feeling of shame. 5. Attention deficit disorders, eating disorder, alcohol abuse can be seen in some adoptees. 6. Worse of all is the tendency to commit suicide that prevails in an adoptee. Statistics says that adopted children are represented with learning disabilities and organic brain syndrome. Adopted children are shown to be vulnerable. 7. Adopted children know they were not involved in the decision of adoption and thus realize that they had no control over loss of their birth family and the choice of the adoptive family. 8. Adoptive parents have been made to face the bitter truth of infertility, a failed pregnancy or the death of their child, after which they take to adopting. The adoptive parents have a sense of dejection and defeat instilled into their minds. An adoptee, who is constantly questioning, creates feelings of rejection in the adoptive parents. 9. There is a genetical connection between a child and his or her birthparents. Adoption leads to its loss. Subsequently, they lose contact with their child and suffer from a loss of their role. Birthparents frequently hate themselves for being irresponsible, as does society. Adoptive parents create stories for the adoptee about his or her birth family. This makes the birth parents feel abandoned. It is heartbreaking to learn that birthmothers have an intensive monologue with the fetus during pregnancy. It is seen that birthmothers feel pressurized and surrender their babies to adoption against their will. 10. Adoption is indeed a life-altering event. But if taken positively, the negative psychological effects it has on the parties involved in adoption, can be minimized. From the perspective of the adoptees, adoption gives them parents, a family, a home.

G. Snodgrass, Ginni D. "Statistics on the Effects of Adoption." //Adoption Cross// //Roads//. N.p., 31 May 1999. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .

1. Many adoptees do not realize that their difficulties, at least in part, stem from simply having been adopted. All adoptees have effects from their adoption experience. The degree of the effects and symptomatic behaviors vary a great deal.

2. There are vulnerabilities shared by all adoptees. In those most vulnerable, a distinct pattern of behaviors can be seen. Some have labeled this the "Adopted Child Syndrome." (Kirschner)

3. Adopted 'children' are disproportionately represented with learning disabilities and organic brain syndrome. (Schecter and Genetic Behaviors) Mental health professionals are surprised at the alarmingly high number of their patients who are adopted. Studies show an average of 25 to 35% of the young people in residential treatment centers are adoptees. This is 17 times the norm. (Lifton, BIRCO--Pannor and Lawrence) 4. Adoptees are more likely to have difficulties with drug and alcohol abuse, as well as, eating disorders, attention deficit disorder, infertility, suicide and untimely pregnancies. (Young, Bohman, Mitchell, Ostroff, Ansfield, Lifton and Schecter) Adoptees are more likely to choose alternate lifestyles. (Ansfield and Lifton) 5. 60 to 85% of the teens at Coldwater Canyon's Center For Personal Development, are adopted. That is 30 to 40 times the norm. The center is a private acute-care psychiatric hospital/school in Southern California. (Ostroff) 6. 50 to 70% of the teens at The Haven in New Trier Township, Illinois, are adopted. That is 25 to 35 times the norm. The Haven is a resource center for street kids. (Henderson) 7. The secrecy in an adoptive family, and the denial that the adoptive family is different builds dysfunction into it. "... while social workers and insecure adoptive parents have structured a family relationship that is based on dishonesty, evasions and exploitation. To believe that good relationships will develop on such a foundation is psychologically unsound" (Lawrence). As John Bradshaw, the well-renowned therapist, says, "A family is only as sick as its secrets." 8. Secrecy, denial, and the primal wound have all played a role in the effect adoption has on the adoptee, but there is still more. Having spent nearly eight years studying and working as a volunteer with over 1000 people affected by an adoption (nearly all adoptees and birthmothers); I have seen the effects of adoption. 9. In an existential sense, the past is as important to adopted people as their future. It is the present that is most troublesome. Not knowing where they fit into the spectrum of happenings is a great problem for them. 10. Research tells us that the birthmothers I worked with were not exceptions. In 1982, Edward Rynearson, Ph.D. described the experience of twenty of his adult patients who, as teenagers, surrendered their first child to adoption. "Nineteen of them established an intense private monologue with the fetus (during pregnancy), including a rescue fantasy in which they and the newborn infant could somehow be "saved" from the relinquishment" (Chesler).

H. " Psychology of Adoption, Quotes." //Domestic Infant Adoption Facts//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. .

1. "Day-to-day life with a new child, who is scared and perhaps angry or rejecting (and who has apparently lost the ability to sleep at night), can make even the most self-confident parent lose that perky edge." - From "Dealing with post-adoption depression," by Jean MacLeod, Adoptive Families Magazine 2. "No matter how much they want and can love a child, most adopters are blind to the child’s pain of separation. This does not make for good parents. Think, for a moment, how you would feel if you were expected to join in the "celebration" as everyone dances on your mother's grave." Julie A. Rist, adoptee - [|Promoting Adoption - "Is the U.S. Promoting Pain?"] 3. Many adopted children experience "emotional problems, including fear of close relationships, negative ways to be in control, low self-esteem, anger, and immaturity that produce behavior problems, including lying, oppositional behavior, school underacheivement and quick temper. These problems often do not respond to rewarding, punishing, and consequences, producing much frustration in parents and teachers." Dr. Michael Katz, profile in Psychology Today. 4. “the ego of the adopted child, in addition to all the demands made upon it, is called upon to compensate for the wound left by the loss of the biological mother.” Clothier, F. MD. 1943 Psychology of the Adopted Child 5. "Adoptive parents are deprived people. Almost all of them have experienced the pain of infertility or inability to bear a live child. They have gone through much disappointment, waiting and uncertainty, all experiences which tend to reduce people’s confidence and self_esteem. When they first acquire a baby their natural instinct is to salve their wounded feelings by denying any difference between the two kinds of parenthood, yet they also have to live with the fear of losing the child up till the time of legal adoption." - PARENTS, CHILDREN AND ADOPTION, 1966, Jane Rowe 6. "The adoptive parents have regained faith in themselves as citizens by restoring social respectability, psychological ‘unwantedness’ and legal protection to the otherwise unwanted and outcast child…" - PROFILE OF UNWED PREGNANCY TODAY, Private Agency Point of View, Lillian Bye, Executive Director, Crittenton Hastings House, Boston, Massachusetts to the National Conference On Social Welfare, San Francisco, California, 1959 7. For older adopted children "There is often a big gap between parents' high expectations of their adopted child and the problematic reality," Prof. Rachel Levy-Shiff. 8. "..should we expose the natural father to where he under all circumstances would have to face his responsibilities towards his child, acknowledging the fact that all children have a father and that we do not have to give some children a father through the artificial process of adoption?" PROFILE OF UNWED PREGNANCY TODAY, Private Agency Point of View, Lillian Bye, Executive Director, Crittenton Hastings House, Boston, Massachusetts to the National Conference On Social Welfare, San Francisco, California, 1959 9. "There is no justification for generalities that the child needs love and affection and we will place him where he can get it, or that any home is better for him than his own. Except in the rarest cases of physical danger we might go so far as to say that no home is any better than his own unless he is able to use it. It is our responsibility to help him use it. We have sometimes leaned on sentimental platitudes and indulged in wishful thinking about children's need for emotional security. Scientific knowledge has stripped us of this kind of justification. We know what separation means to children; that it is akin to death and carries with it anger, disillusionment, despair, and a deep sense of ‘badness.’" 10. "... we reaffirm the right of parents to make decisions in behalf of their children as long as they retain their legal rights." - UPHOLD RIGHTS OF PARENT AND CHILD, Inez M. Baker, (Parish Supervisor, Children's Division, Orleans Parish Department of Public Welfare, Louisiana, Condensed from paper given at Louisiana, State Conference of Social Welfare, Baton, Rouge, March 1948) The Child, Vol. 13, No. 2, August 1948

**Thesis (15 pts)**

Based on this research what is your specific stance on this topic? - My stance on this topic is that many families do mean well when adopting their child. But unfortunately when trying to "protect" the child they have now committed themselves to, sometimes they forget that the child has their own personal feelings on being adopted.

What is your initial thesis?

- Though adoption is ultimately beneficial to both the child and prospective parent, little thought is put into the mental state of the child as time goes on, the way they view themselves, and the way they think about their place in this world. Support your thesis with a minimum of five findings or conclusions. Only list findings that are relevant to your thesis. You must successfully back up your conclusions with your research. You must present your findings in outline form using full sentences as listed below. Below each finding, list the specific pieces of evidence (from your research) that support your finding.
 * Findings (15 pts) & Support for Findings (25 pts)**

1. Finding #1 - Cognitive effects a. Support: B4, B1, B2, B3 - b4 - Problems in identity development. Physical/psychological similarities and dissimilarities. Who am I like? Where do I belong? fit in? - B1 - Disrupted attachment of feelings of disconnectedness (especially in delayed adoptions). With Infant adoptions there is a sense of ambiguous attachment, a tenuous sense of attachment. Even if loved, an adoptee may feel like they don't fit in or belong in the family. - B2 - Feelings of rejection, Understanding concept of relinquishment - B3 - Damaged self-image, low self-esteem. Thinking, feeling, acting rejected, sees self as "damaged goods." "I must have done something horrible to have been sent away from my (birth)-mother."

2. Finding # 2 - Child's mental states / social connections a. Support: B4, A4, B1, F1, F3 - B4 - Problems in identity development. Physical/psychological similarities and dissimilarities. Who am I like? Where do I belong? fit in? - A4 - Adopted children who have not even neared this phase of their lives yet are often labeled an "at-risk", which is a child who, though currently having no visible problems in development, is at risk of developing learning, emotional, behavioral or physical disabilities in the future. - B1 - Disrupted attachment of feelings of disconnectedness (especially in delayed adoptions). With Infant adoptions there is a sense of ambiguous attachment, a tenuous sense of attachment. Even if loved, an adoptee may feel like they don't fit in or belong in the family. -F1 - Major issues triggered by adoption are loss, rejection, guilt and grief. -F3 - Apart from these there is lack of intimacy in the new relationship. There is a feeling of loss of control. Identity crisis can trouble the adoptee. Many of the issues intrinsic to the adoption experience come together when the adoptee reaches adolescence.

3. Finding # 3 - Family relationships a. Support - F4, G2, H6, F7 - F4 - Loss triggered by adoption is the loss of ones identity, one’s separation from his or her birth family. For the birthparents, it’s the loss of their child. A feeling of rejection worsens the feeling of loss. Adoptive parents feel rejected to be parents. Both adoptive parents and birthparents experience role confusion. The sense of rejection leads to a feeling of shame. - G2 - There are vulnerabilities shared by all adoptees. In those most vulnerable, a distinct pattern of behaviors can be seen. Some have labeled this the "Adopted Child Syndrome." (Kirschner) - H5 - "Adoptive parents are deprived people. Almost all of them have experienced the pain of infertility or inability to bear a live child. They have gone through much disappointment, waiting and uncertainty, all experiences which tend to reduce people’s confidence and self_esteem. When they first acquire a baby their natural instinct is to salve their wounded feelings by denying any difference between the two kinds of parenthood, yet they also have to live with the fear of losing the child up till the time of legal adoption." - PARENTS, CHILDREN AND ADOPTION, 1966, Jane Rowe - H6 - "The adoptive parents have regained faith in themselves as citizens by restoring social respectability, psychological ‘unwantedness’ and legal protection to the otherwise unwanted and outcast child…" - PROFILE OF UNWED PREGNANCY TODAY, Private Agency Point of View, Lillian Bye, Executive Director, Crittenton Hastings House, Boston, Massachusetts to the National Conference On Social Welfare, San Francisco, California, 1959 - F7 - Adopted children know they were not involved in the decision of adoption and thus realize that they had no control over loss of their birth family and the choice of the adoptive family.

4. Finding #4 - What are adopted children most likely to do? a. Support - G4, G3, H3, H2 - G4 - Adoptees are more likely to have difficulties with drug and alcohol abuse, as well as, eating disorders, attention deficit disorder, infertility, suicide and untimely pregnancies. (Young, Bohman, Mitchell, Ostroff, Ansfield, Lifton and Schecter) - G3 - Adopted 'children' are disproportionately represented with learning disabilities and organic brain syndrome. (Schecter and Genetic Behaviors) Mental health professionals are surprised at the alarmingly high number of their patients who are adopted. Studies show an average of 25 to 35% of the young people in residential treatment centers are adoptees. This is 17 times the norm. (Lifton, BIRCO--Pannor and Lawrence) - H3 - Many adopted children experience "emotional problems, including fear of close relationships, negative ways to be in control, low self-esteem, anger, and immaturity that produce behavior problems, including lying, oppositional behavior, school underacheivement and quick temper. These problems often do not respond to rewarding, punishing, and consequences, producing much frustration in parents and teachers." Dr. Michael Katz, profile in Psychology Today. - H2 - "No matter how much they want and can love a child, most adopters are blind to the child’s pain of separation. This does not make for good parents. Think, for a moment, how you would feel if you were expected to join in the "celebration" as everyone dances on your mother's grave." Julie A. Rist, adoptee - [|Promoting Adoption - "Is the U.S. Promoting Pain?"]

5. Finding # 5 - How new parents along with prospective parents handle the new life. a. support - H6, H5, H8, H4, H9, F3, F7 -H6 - "The adoptive parents have regained faith in themselves as citizens by restoring social respectability, psychological ‘unwantedness’ and legal protection to the otherwise unwanted and outcast child…" - PROFILE OF UNWED PREGNANCY TODAY, Private Agency Point of View, Lillian Bye, Executive Director, Crittenton Hastings House, Boston, Massachusetts to the National Conference On Social Welfare, San Francisco, California, 1959 -H5 - "Adoptive parents are deprived people. Almost all of them have experienced the pain of infertility or inability to bear a live child. They have gone through much disappointment, waiting and uncertainty, all experiences which tend to reduce people’s confidence and self_esteem. When they first acquire a baby their natural instinct is to salve their wounded feelings by denying any difference between the two kinds of parenthood, yet they also have to live with the fear of losing the child up till the time of legal adoption." - PARENTS, CHILDREN AND ADOPTION, 1966, Jane Rowe - H8 - "..should we expose the natural father to where he under all circumstances would have to face his responsibilities towards his child, acknowledging the fact that all children have a father and that we do not have to give some children a father through the artificial process of adoption?" PROFILE OF UNWED PREGNANCY TODAY, Private Agency Point of View, Lillian Bye, Executive Director, Crittenton Hastings House, Boston, Massachusetts to the National Conference On Social Welfare, San Francisco, California, 1959 - H4 - “the ego of the adopted child, in addition to all the demands made upon it, is called upon to compensate for the wound left by the loss of the biological mother.” Clothier, F. MD. 1943 Psychology of the Adopted Child - H9- "There is no justification for generalities that the child needs love and affection and we will place him where he can get it, or that any home is better for him than his own. Except in the rarest cases of physical danger we might go so far as to say that no home is any better than his own unless he is able to use it. It is our responsibility to help him use it. We have sometimes leaned on sentimental platitudes and indulged in wishful thinking about children's need for emotional security. Scientific knowledge has stripped us of this kind of justification. We know what separation means to children; that it is akin to death and carries with it anger, disillusionment, despair, and a deep sense of ‘badness.’" -F3 - Apart from these there is lack of intimacy in the new relationship. There is a feeling of loss of control. Identity crisis can trouble the adoptee. Many of the issues intrinsic to the adoption experience come together when the adoptee reaches adolescence. - F7 - Adopted children know they were not involved in the decision of adoption and thus realize that they had no control over loss of their birth family and the choice of the adoptive family.


 * Process Reflection (5 pts)**

What did you learn from conducting this research? - I learned that there have been several studies on children who have been adopted, and that many researchers have studied the psychological effects of adoption on these children. Some researchers found little to no commonalities between the children in their study, while others found a multitude of similarities.

What higher-order thinking skills did you employ? - What is higher-order thinking skills mean?

What research skills do you still need to improve? - I need to continue to narrow down my research so that I can pick exactly what I am looking for to prove, or share with others.

What information did you think you knew before researching that turned out to be either incorrect or incomplete knowledge of your topic? - I thought that there would be several commonalities amongst adoptees even though each child would more than likely have a very different background. Surprisingly though I found that researchers have found that there are in fact several commonalities, or non at all.


 * Connections to the Overall Project (5 pts)**

So what? How do your findings fit back into the big picture of your project? - They fit into the grand scale of things for my project because having prior mini case studies is nice to help to form more of a base for my project.

How will this research help you move forward with your project? - This research will help me move forward with my project because it lays down some foundation work.