Adoption is a frequent occurrence in the United States but few articles are written about the aftermath of being adopted. Whether the adoption is a familial or stranger adoption, questions arise about the best age to tell children they are adopted and what children and parents feel about the experience. The article I chose to evaluate researches these subjects. The article I chose is A Phenomenological Exploration of Adoption by Diana L. Baltimore, and Sedahlia Jasper Crase.
Summary of ArticleBaltimore and Crase developed their study on two questions; "(a) What are children's and parents' overall experiences with adoption? (b) What do children understand about the concept of adoption, and how do they construct that understanding" (Baltimore & Crase, 2009). The authors wanted to learn more about the experiences of adoption based on the perceptions of children and parents interviews. The authors believed that prior research on this subject was too biased and did include interviews with the participants involved in the adoption proceedings.
English: Sister Irene and children at New York Fou...
Open Records emblem used in Adoptee Rights Protest...
AdoptionParticipants in StudyThe participants in the study were eight mothers, eight fathers, and nine children. All those interviewed were from the Midwest area of the United States. The adoptions were completed from a mixture of international, private, and foster care agencies. Some families had biological children but some did not. The ages of the children who were adopted ranged from 5-14 at the time of the interview but all children had been adopted before the age of 18 months. All parents were Caucasian and none of the adoptions were familial adoptions.
Method of StudyThe study was completed in a phenomenological approach, which means the research was based on the experiences related to the interviewers. In other words, I believe this could be interpreted as a qualitative study. The adults were interviewed using open-ended...