Non-adopted siblings' search-and-reunion experiences
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- Title
- Non-adopted siblings' search-and-reunion experiences
- Creator
- Rosie Waterfield
- Date
- 2020
- Abstract
- An adoptee's desire to search for, make contact with, and reunite with their birth family is considered to be a psychologically significant experience, leading researchers to study adoption triad members (i.e. adoptees, adoptive parents, and birthparents) experiences of this phenomenon. Historically, research has focused almost exclusively on triad members, thus overlooking other family members' experiences. Research suggests that non-adopted siblings (i.e. the adoptive parents, biological children) have significant and unique adoption experiences, yet their voices remain unheard in search-and-reunion literature. Through semi-structured interviews, I asked six non-adopted adult siblings to share their search-and-reunion journey experiences. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) identified two master themes: (1) The insider-outsider paradox (capturing their paradoxical participation in the research and insistence of not having a story of their own, their powerful/powerless custodian role, and feeling allied/split from others); and (2) "So who are 'the family' now?" (reflecting their struggles with nomenclature, nature versus nurture, and uncertainty about their 'real' sibling identity). Clinical recommendations include psychoeducation, promotion of specialised support, and empowerment-based individual, group, sibling, and family therapy for non-adopted siblings. Future research should explicitly explore the populations (clinical) support needs; use grounded theory and discourse-focused methodologies; and explore the phenomenon in the context of transracial and intercountry adoption.
- Extent
- 198 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Regent's University London
- degree
- DPsych Psychotherapy and Counselling
- Description
- EThOS ID: 817610
- Language
- English
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis & Dissertation
- Rights Holder
- Rosie Waterfield and Regent's University London
- Item sets
- Theses or Dissertation