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Hello,
My name is Stephanie Klein and I am a student at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Currently I am working on a research project with Dr. Maha Younes from the Social Work Department at UNK. Our research project is focusing on the perspective and experiences of adult international adoptees and their parents. The following is information on our study and the requirements of participation. I strongly urge you to consider participating in our study as it will give you an opportunity to share your own story along with providing information and help to those considering adopting internationally. Contact information is provided at the bottom of this post, please e-mail me or my advisor Dr. Maha Younes for more information or if you would like to participate in this study. Thank You!
Rationale for the Study: A lot of research currently exists related to the negative experiences of adoptive parents and their children. However no research was found that shares the direct perspective/views of the parent and their adult children. Longitudinal studies are simply lacking, and no studies exist that reflect the views of adults who were adopted internationally as children. We would like to use the study to tell the stories of the adult children and their adoptive parents, seek their input into what works and doesn't, and ask for advice that they would give parents and children who are addressing international adoption issues.
Intent of the Study: This qualitative case study explores the experiences and perspectives of internationally adopted adult children and their adoptive parents.
Participation Criteria:
25 individuals who were adopted internationally as children and are now 18 years or older.
Օ 25 parents or sets of parents with adult children (18 years of age or older) whom they adopted internationally.
Confidentiality: Adult children and adoptive parents who volunteer to participate in the study will be read a consent form explaining the purpose of the study, participants rights and conditions, and dissemination information. Upon gaining a verbal consent to participate in the study, participants will be asked a list of demographic questions related to their profile; no identifying information such as name, address, phone or e-mail will be requested to maintain their anonymity and protect their confidentiality rights.
Procedure:
ҕ Preferably participants will engage in telephone interviews that may last up to 30 minutes and will respond to questions that are designed to explore their perspective as either adult child or a set of questions that are specifically designed for their perspective as adult child or parent.
The option of e-mail questionnaires is also available for individuals who wish to participate and take additional time to reflect on their answers. In that case, the researchers will e-mail the questionnaire, which may completed and returned by e-mail.
The questions will probe the following areas: basic adoption information, child rearing experiences, degree of concern through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; impact of adoption experience on adulthood and various aspects of life; current relationship between adult child and adoptive parents; rewards and regrets associated with the international adoption experience; what would they do different; recommendations and advice for those considering international adoptions; and an adjective that would describe the overall adoption experience. The adult children questionnaire mirrors the focus of the aforementioned questions, but seeks the answers from their unique perspective. The telephone interview will conclude with a request for participation in a follow-up e-mail that would share the initial results of data analysis and seek further clarification and input regarding the outcome. Those who consent to participate in a follow-up study will be e-mailed a consent form along with a set of questions that will emerge following data analysis. They will be given limited period of time to respond. All questionnaires and responses will be coded to protect the identity of participants.
Outcome:
All data will be compiled and shared with participants and the completed research study and manuscript will be published in a research journal.
The success of our study depends on the willingness of people to participate. Please consider participating and let me know of your intentions by responding to my e-mail directly.
Stephanie Klein
E-Mail: kleinsa@lopers.unk.edu
Dr. Maha N. Younes, Professor & Chair
Department of Social Work
University of Nebraska-Kearney
E-Mail: younesm@unk.edu
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