Adoptees Have Answers is very grateful to students graduating from the Metropolitan State University Deptment of Social Work for their help compiling this list of resesarch studies and other resources. Over time we will continue to build this listing, with your help. We rely on users and other visitors to inform us of resources we have unintentionally omitted.
Research Institutes/Projects
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
http://adoptioninstitute.org/index.php
One of the foremost national institutes focused on adoption policy, research, education and advocacy
The Adoption History Project, Ellen Herman, University of Oregon
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/index.html
Comprehensive, informative website detailing the history of adoption in the U.S., includes a timeline and information about many topics in adoption
The International Adoption Project
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/icd/iap/
An ongoing research project through the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development with the goal of developing a clearer picture of the successes, needs and challenges that international adoptees experience and face
Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project
http://www.cehd.umn.edu/fsos/Centers/mtarp/
An ongoing collaborative study by the Universities of Minnesota and Texas, focuses on the varying degrees of openness in adoption and how they affect the adoption triad or constellation
Tufts Adoption and Development Project
http://www.tuftsadp.org/
An ongoing study on Chinese adoptees and their understanding of adoption and identity
Stories of Adult Transnational Adoptees and Their American Parents
http://transnational-adoptee-parent-study.webs.com/
Survey focused on how transnational adoptees and their parents negotiate issues of transnational adoption
Research Articles/Papers/Theses
Adjustment
Title: Psychosocial Model of Adoption Adjustment
Author: Brodzinsky, Schechter and Henig
Link: http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/grief_brodzinsky_article.php
Summary: This model expands Erik Erikson’s theory of human development to include the unique developmental tasks of adopted individuals.
Title: Adult Adoptees’ Perceptions of Sameness To/Difference From Adoptive Family: The Relationship to Self-Concept and Loss
Author: L. Edelstein
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 1996.
Summary: Sixty-nine adoptees completed the adoptee questionnaire and the Tennessee Self- Concept Scale. The researcher found that adoptees who perceived themselves as similar to their adoptive family scored significantly higher on self concept variables.
Title: Adjustment and Identity Formation in Adopted and Nonadopted Young Adults: Contributions of Family Environment.
Author: M.M. Kelly, E. Towner-Thyrum, A. Rigby, and B. Martin
Publishing Information: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry v 68, n 3 (July 1998): 497-500.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1037/h0080359/abstract (for purchase)
Summary: This study measured overall adjustment and identity formation in 49 adopted and 49 nonadopted college students. The two groups were found to be indistinguishable on all measures of developmental tasks. The key difference was in the family dynamics that predicted success for the two groups.
Title: Assessment of Object Relations and Attachment Capacity in Adult Adoptees
Author: D. Fischman
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, Adelphia University, 1995.
Summary: This study sought, by comparing adult adoptees to nonadopted adults, to determine if separation from the biological mother affects one’s capacity for adult relationships and if age at the time of separation is relevant.
Title: Attachment and Racial Identity Issues: Implications for Child Placement Decision-making.
Author: R. G. McRoy
Publishing Information: Journal of Multicultural Social Work v 3, n 3 (1994): 59-74.
Link: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a904729461~tab=citations (for purchase)
Summary: The author examines the research on the significance of attachment in the formation of positive racial identity and makes recommendations for the assessment of appropriate adoptive families.
Title: Stress and Coping in Adopted Children: A Developmental Study
Author: D. W. Smith, and D. M. Brodzinsky
Publishing Information: Journal of Clinical Child Psychology v 23, n 1 (1994): 91-99.
Link: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a783753547 (for purchase)
Summary: Eighty-five adopted children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17 years old recruited through various agencies and support groups participated in this study on children’s views of adoption.
Title: Nature, Nurture, and Cognitive Development from 1 to 16 Years: A Parent Offspring Adoption Study
Authors: R. Plomin, D. W. Fulker, and J. C.DeFries
Publishing Information: Psychological Science v 8, n 6 (November 1997): 442-47.
Link: http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/spring06/mcguem/psy5137/readings/plomin%201997.pdf
Summary: Based on data from their longitudinal study of 245 adopted children and their adoptive and biological parents, the authors report that in adolescence adopted children become more like their biological parents in regard to cognitive abilities to the same degree as adolescents in a control group.
Title: Adoptees’ Resolution of the Adolescent Identity Crisis: Where are the Taproots?
Authors: B. L. Goebel, and S. L. Lott
Publishing Information: Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., August 1986.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1037/h0080359/abstract (for purchase)
Summary: Eighty-three adoptees and 81 nonadoptees between the ages of 18 and 35 were compared for resolution of Erikson’s identity/diffusion and intimacy/isolation crises. Search motivation status was also analyzed among the adoptees. The sample included college students and college-educated residents of a community.
Foster Care
Title: I was Tooken’: How Children Experience Removal from Their Parents Preliminary to Placement into Foster Care
Author: Rosalind D. Folman
Publishing Information: Adoption Quarterly v 2, n 2 (1998): 7-33.
Link: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1300/J145v02n02_02 (for purchase)
Summary: The author presents findings in a qualitative study of the experiences of 90 children, ages 8-14 years when they were removed from their homes and placed into foster care. It makes recommendations on how to change the removal experience from one of trauma to one of opportunity for change.
Health
Title: The Effects of Adoption and the Adoptive Home on the Health of Children: A Comparison of Adoptees and Nonadoptees
Author: C. L. Sutton
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, 1995.
Summary: This study uses data from the National Health Interview Survey, 1987, and the National Health Interview Survey, 1987, Adoption Supplement to examine the impact of adoption on the physical health of adoptees.
Identity
Title: Beyond Culture Camp: Promoting Healthy Identity Formation in Adoption
Authors: Hollee McGinnis, Susan Livingston Smith, Dr. Scott D. Ryan, and Dr. Jeanne A. Howard
Publishing Information: November 2009, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Institute.
Link: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/research/2009_11_culture_camp.php
Summary: The broadest, most comprehensive study on adopted adult identity to date. Findings underscore the need for adoptees to connect and interact with one another.
Title: Constructing Adoptive Identities: The Accounts of Adopted Adults
Author: B. E. Jackson
Publishing Information: Master’s thesis, The University of Manitoba, 1993.
Summary: The author interviewed 10 adopted adults and conducted a comparative analysis of the emerging themes and categories to develop a theoretical map of adoptive identities. The following categories were identified as being pertinent to the adoptive experience: conceptions of family, conceptions of adoption, communication, roots, information gathering, and connections.
Title: The Identity Process of Young Adolescents Who Were Relinquished and Adopted During Infancy
Author: S. M. Gutcher
Publishing Information: Ph. D. dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology Berkeley/Alameda, 1997.
Summary: Twelve adopted adolescents were compared with 12 nonadopted in the area of identity formation. The adopted groups were adopted prior to six months of age and had little or no information about their birth parents. Over all, there were no significant differences between the two groups in identity formation. However, the adopted group scored higher on scales of Succorance and Abasement and among the adoptees who were having difficulties with identity formation “Roaming/Searching” and “Physical Resemblance” were key factors.
Intercountry & Transracial adoption
Title: The Transracial Adoption Paradox: History, Research and Counseling Implications of Cultural Socialization
Author: Richard M. Lee
Publishing Information: The Counseling Psychologist, 31 (6): 711. (2003)
Summary: Transracial adoption raises many complex questions, and this article addresses several of them. Additionally, the article provides a brief history of transracial adoption and its debates in the United States. A review of selected literature is provided, and a cultural socialization framework is introduced to facilitate understanding of the psychological and cultural dynamics. This article is aimed at those interested in transracial adoption, as well as professionals in the counseling psychology field.
Title: Cultural Socialization in Families With Internationally Adopted Children
Authors: M.R. Lee, H.D. Grotevant, W.L. Hellerstedt and M.R. Gunnar
Publishing Information: Journal of Family Psychology, 20:571—580. (2006)
Summary: Internationally adopted children and their adoptive families are analyzed in terms of attitudes, parental approach, and cultural socialization.
Korean adoption
Title: Comparing the Ethnic Identity and Well-Being of Adopted Korean Americans With Immigrant/U.S.-Born Korean Americans and Korean International Students
Authors: M. R. Lee, K.P. Nelson, H.Y. Yoo, A.B. Yun
Publishing Information: Adoption Quarterly, 13: 1, 2—17. (2010)
Summary: In this study, a comparison of ethnic identity and welfare of Korean Americans adopted abroad, Korean international students, Koreans who were born in the United States and those who immigrated was conducted. The study also looked at the association between the well-being of the groups and how they identified with their ethnicity. The results suggest that ethnic identity of adopted Korean American college students, even though it’s somewhat less than in non-adopted Koreans, is important in determining personal well-being.
Title: The Past and Present Cultural Experiences of Adopted Korean American Adults
Authors: M. R. Lee and S.L. Song
Publishing Information: Adoption Quarterly, 12:1,19—36. (2009)
Summary: This study looked at Korean adult adoptees and their cultural life experiences. Childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood were analyzed in seven areas. These were further analyzed and the association between cultural identity and the groups was established. Ethnic identity positively associated with cultural experiences of young adulthood.
Title: Genealogies of Korean adoption: American Empire, militarization and Yellow Desire
Author: SooJin Pate
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, 2010.
Link: http://purl.umn.edu/92514
Summary: This dissertation situates Korean adoption in the context of U.S. military occupation, disrupting the dominant narrative of Korean adoption as a humanitarian rescue project.
Title: Perceptions of Ethnic Identity Among Korean-Born Adoptees and Their Caucasian-American Parents
Author: J. Cole
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissetation, Columbia University, 1992.
Summary: This study examined perceptions of ethnic identity among 48 Korean-born adoptees living in New York City. The children were 5 to 7 years old at the time of the study. Findings indicate that age at interview is the critical variable for the child. Seven year olds were better able to describe themselves as Korean and were most adept at perceiving ethnic differences.
Title: Clinical Observations of Adult Intercountry Adoptees and their Adoptive Parents
Authors: H. Altstein, M. Coster, L. First-Hartling et al.
Publishing Information: Child Welfare v 73, n 3 (May-June, 1994): 261-69.
Summary: This paper presents data from a subset of a major ongoing study of hundreds of international adoptees over the age of 18 and their parents. All of the participants in this subset were Asian born, with 90 percent were Korean born. Most of the respondents (72 percent) lived in predominantly Caucasian neighborhoods. Twenty-four of the 29 respondents indicated that their teenage best friends were Caucasian, and 20 indicated that they had mainly dated Caucasians during high school. Of the six married respondents, all had Caucasian spouses.
Title: Racial Identity Development and Self-Concept in Adopted Korean Women
Author: K.S.Des Jardins
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University Graduate School, 1996.
Summary: Sixty-two Korean born women who were adopted by Caucasian families in the United States participated in this study. Measures of identity and self concept were compared with a normative sample. The primary finding was that there is a significant correlation between self concept and racial identity, but only when measured by an instrument that assesses bicultural orientation. Bicultural orientation was related to higher self concept than either minority or majority focused monocultural orientation in this sample.
Title: Korean Children’s Ethnic Identity Formation and Understanding of Adoption
Author: N.S. Huh
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York at Albany, 1997.
Summary: Forty adopted Korean children between the ages of 9 and 14 and their adoptive parents were interviewed. A key finding was that school played a major role in enhancing a child’s ethnic identity. Children with parents who encouraged open communication about adoption had fewer questions about birthparents than those children in families with closed communication.
Open Adoption
Title: Openness and Contact in Foster Care Adoptions: An Eight-Year Follow-Up
Authors: Karie M. Frasch, Devon Brooks and Richard P. Barth
Publishing Information: Family Relations v 49, n 4 (October 2000): 435-446.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00435.x/abstract (for purchase)
Summary: This study examines openness and contact in 231 foster care adoptions from the California Long-Range Adoption Study (CLAS), an eight-year longitudinal study. Despite the increase in open adoptions over the last thirty years, little data exists about openness among families involved in adoptions of children from the foster system. Data was collected using three rounds of mailed questionnaires to be completed by the adoptive parents. Findings indicated that while the practice of openness continues to evolve for most families, there is remarkable stability in levels of contact and communication with the child’s biological family, especially in the last four years of the study.
Search and Reunion
Title: Searching and Nonsearching Adopted Adolescents: Factors that Influence the Decision to Search for Biological Roots
Author: B. D. Levy
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology Los Angeles, 1997.
Summary: Twenty-four adopted adolescents were assessed regarding the influences on their decision to search or not to search for biological relatives.
Title: The Effects of the Sealed Record in Adoptions
Authors: A.D. Sorosky, A. Baran and R. Pannor
Publishing Information: Journal of Psychiatry v 133, n 8 (August 1976): 900-9Ǥ.
Link: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/133/8/900 (for purchase)
Summary: Forty of 50 adult adoptees (41 females; median age of subjects = 40 years) who had reunions with their birth parents found the experience satisfying. Findings suggest that adoption practices that include permanent sealing of birth records in most states should be changed to recognize and accommodate the lifelong nature of adoption.
Title: Adopted Adults’ Perception of their Need to Search: An Informal Survey
Authors: D. Bertocci and M. D. Schechter
Publishing Information: Unpublished manuscript. 1987.
Link: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a917771040 (for purchase)
Summary: The study sample consisted of 94 adult adoptees searching for biological relatives. A majority of the respondents reported that the lack of physical resemblance to their adoptive parents played a role in their desire to search for birth relatives. Those who had participated in a reunion, expressed increased feelings of significant changes in self-esteem and self-worth.
Title: Identity and the Search for Origins: A Study of Adult Adoptees
Author: M.A. Haag
Publishing Information: Ph.D. diss., University of California at Santa Cruz, 1989.
Summary: A group of 20 adopted adults who had reunited with one or both of their birthparents were compared with a group of 20 nonsearchers in the areas of identity formation. Female searchers identified less with their adoptive mothers than did nonsearchers. They also rated their families as less cohesive, less expressive and more controlled than did nonsearchers. No significant differences were found between male searchers and nonsearchers on any variables.
Title: Adoption Reunion and After: A Study of the Search Process and Experience of Adoptees
Author: P. Sachdev
Publishing Information: Child Welfare v 71, n 1 (January-February 1992): 53-68.
Summary: The experiences of 124 adoptees who completed reunions with their biological mothers and/or other relatives were analyzed. Less than one-tenth of the respondents described their adoptive family relationships as unhappy. All of the adoptees, except for three, initiated the search for their biological mother. The three who were found by their biological mother reported feelings of anxiety and confusion.
Title: Perspectives on the Adoption Experience from Adult Adoptees in Search of Their Roots
Author: C. A. Philion
Publishing Information: Ph. D. dissertation, University of Victoria, 1992.
Summary: Fifty-six individuals searching for information about their biological relatives participated in this research project. The participants were divided into two groups based on whether or not their adoptive mother viewed adoptive parenthood as being different from biological parenthood (Yes, N=21; No, N=33). The main findings were that the adults searched for information about their biological family because of a need to know and complete their sense of identity.
Title: Adult Adoptee Perceptions of Search Readiness: Implications for Adoptive Parent Education
Author: S. R. Reed
Publishing Information: Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Arlington, 1994.
Summary: Fifty-four adult adoptees who had completed reunions were surveyed to ascertain their perceptions of the adoption experience, adoptive parents’ needs, and adoptive family preparedness for search and reunion.
Title: Narratives Told by Adult Adoptees Regarding their Experience of Adoption
Author: R. S. Charon
Publishing Information: Ph.D. dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, at Berkeley/Alameda, 1994.
Summary: Thirty male and female adult adoptees were interviewed about their life experience as adoptees. Differences between the searching and nonsearching adoptees were identified.
Policy Briefs/Recommendations
Title: Adoptive Parent Preparation Project Phase I: Meeting the Mental Health and Developmental Needs of Adopted Children
Author: David Brodzinsky
Publishing Information: February 2008, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Link: http://adoptioninstitute.org/publications/2008_02_Parent_Preparation.pdf
Summary: This publication represents the initial phase of a broad, longitudinal project designed to shape best practice standards that will assist adoption professionals in the preparation and education of adoptive parents. The paper outlines best practices in particular for preparing adoptive parents to meet the mental health and developmental needs of their children.
Title: For the Records: Restoring a Right to Adult Adoptees
Author: Madelyn Freundlich
Publishing Information: November 2007, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Link: http://adoptioninstitute.org/publications/2007_11_For_Records.pdf
Summary: This study, published as part of National Adoption Awareness month, represents the most comprehensive examination to date of one of the most controversial, emotional issues in the modern adoption world: whether adopted people, once they become adults, should have access to their original birth certificates. It suggests that all states change their laws so that the original documents are available to adult adoptees.
Title: Expanding Resources for Children: Is Adoption By Gays and Lesbians Part of the Answer for Boys and Girls Who Need Homes?
Author: Jeanne Howard
Publishing Information: March 2006, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Link: http://adoptioninstitute.org/publications/2006_Expanding_Resources_for_Children%20_March_.pdf
Summary: This policy perspective brief provides a research-based context for the ongoing debate in the United States over the adoption of children by gays and lesbians. The report found no child-centered reason to prevent gays and lesbians from becoming adoptive parents, and recommends that gay and lesbian parents be recruited more extensively to provide permanent homes for children living in state care across the country.
Title: Adoption in the Schools: A Lot to Learn
Authors: Susan Livingston Smith, Debbie Riley
Publishing Information: September 2006, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Link: http://adoptioninstitute.org/publications/2006_09_Adoption_in_the_Schools_FullReport.pdf
Summary: The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released this policy perspective brief in 2006, bringing together for the first time the research and years of broad experience on a range of issues that affect millions of boys and girls nationwide. The report points out that, as adoption becomes increasingly normalized in the United States, more and more adoptive families will be facing challenges when their children attend school. It makes recommendations regarding how educators can best meet those challenges.
Title: What’s Working for Children: A Policy Study of Adoption Stability and Termination
Author: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Publishing Information: November 2004, New York, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Document Type: White paper
Link: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/publications/Disruption_Report.pdf
Summary: A 2004 research study that found the majority of adoptions from foster care have remained intact over time. The study also raises questions about the effectiveness of state data collection systems on adoption terminations and offers recommendations on how to improve policies and practices.
Title: Openness in Adoption and Post-Adoption Contact Agreements: A Review of the Empirical Research and Current State Law
Author: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Publishing Information: December 1999
Link: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/policy/polopen.html
Summary: This is an introductory information booklet published by the Adoption Institute that provides information about post-adoption contact agreements and inquiries into open adoption.
Research Conferences
International Conference on Adoption Research (ICAR)
Most recently held in July 2010 in the Netherlands, ICAR aims to bring together distinguished and emerging adoption researchers to share findings and perspectives, and to discuss and debate future research. Researchers come from a broad range of disciplines including but not limited to psychology, anthropology, social work, and law.
The website for the Third International Conference on Adoption Research is http://icar3.eu/
Annual New England Adoption Conference
Presented by the Adoption Community of New England, Inc., this annual New England adoption conference takes place in the spring. More info about the conference can be found here: http://adoptioncommunityofne.org/pages/annual-ne-adoption-conference.php
Adoption Connections Training Institute: OneWorld Neighborhood – International Conference on Post Adoption Services
http://www.kinnect.org/training.html#ACTION
Started in 2003, the ACTION conference brings together individuals, organizations and agencies to collaborate in providing the best possible trainings, treatments and services to families and children worldwide. The next conference will be held February 2011 in Cambridge, MA.
Adoption Resource Center Summer Intensives
http://www.kinnect.org/training.html#ARC
Held annually in the summer in Provincetown, MA, these intensives are based on Dr. Joyce Pavao’s ‘Normative Crises in the Development of the Adoptive Family’ framework.
Cape Cod Institute
http://www.cape.org/overview.html
A summer-long series of week-long courses for mental health and management professionals.
International Korean Adoptee Associations (IKAA) Gatherings
A combined research and social event open to adult Korean adoptees, spouses, partners and children, IKAA Gatherings have taken place in Korea, the U.S. and the Netherlands. The most recent Gathering took place August 3-8, 2010 in Seoul. The Gatherings include workshops and a research symposium, film festival, cultural activities and an Adoptee World Cup. Information about the 2010 Gathering can be found here: http://gathering.ikaa.info/en/page/351
KAAN Conference
http://www.kaanet.com/2010_conference/
A conference that brings together Korean adoptees, adoptive families, birth families, Koreans and Korean Americans. The conference is largely social.
