Mar 26, 2022 03:15 PM - 04:45 PM(America/New_York)
20220326T1515 20220326T1645 America/New_York Saturday Afternoon, Session B Adoption Initiative Conference 2020/2022 adoptioninitiative@gmail.com
26 attendees saved this session
What Help Do International Adoptees Need When Experiencing Post-Adoption Contact Through Social Media?
Papers/Presentation 03:15 PM - 04:00 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/26 19:15:00 UTC - 2022/03/26 20:00:00 UTC
Introduction: It is becoming more and more common to hear that an international adoptee has found their birth family through social media. Social media, such as Facebook, has changed how adoptees experience their search and reunion. With these online communication tools, adoptees and their birth families can find and contact each other faster than by going through more official channels, like the government. However, this type of search and reunion can be unsettling in different ways. 
Aims: The aim of the research on which this proposal is based was to better understand how internationally adopted adults experience social media contact with their birth families.
Method: Eight Quebec international adoptees aged 18 and older participated in individual interviews. The study was conducted by using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the adoptees' discourses.
Results: The adoptees' discourses mention how support from their adoptive family and their social network, such as emotional and financial support, and from adoption competent professionals helped them face the different challenges brought on by social media contact. Access to different resources, like translation applications, also enabled their ability to manage the situation and its more negative facets.
Discussion: Different types of support and resources play an important role in the outcome of the social media contact between adoptees and their birth families. When participants have access to help and resources, they can better navigate this reality that can be disturbing. 
Implications: Adoptees who conduct their search and reunion through social media usually do not have professional help and must navigate the outcomes alone. This study indicates different ways in which adoptees can better make sense of their experience and the help their family, their friends, and professionals can offer for them to live a more positive search and reunion.
Presenters Johanne Thomson-Sweeny
Presenter, Université De Montréal
Liberating Our Ancestors: Adult Colombian Adoptee First Family Reunions
Papers/Presentation 04:00 PM - 04:45 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/26 20:00:00 UTC - 2022/03/26 20:45:00 UTC
Adoption reunions, where the adult adopted person finds and meets their birth family member (s), can be complex endeavors given the myriad adoption related developmental issues present for both parties. Transnational adoption reunions add an additional layer of complexity regarding cultural and language barriers. Research from Korean adoptee transnational reunions suggests variations in experiences for the adult adopted person. However, little is known about how adult Colombian adopted persons experience transnational reunions with their Colombian first/birth families. In their qualitative study, the researchers will present the findings gathered from 17 adult Colombian adoptees who shared their reunion narratives. Recommendations for search and reunion for other transnational adoptees, adoptive families, and adoption professionals will be discussed.
Presenters Sanna Stella
Attendee & Presenter
Amelia Sun Langkusch
Attendee/presenter
Co-Authors Susan Branco
Assistant Professor, Licensed Professional Counselor, St. Bonaventure University
Assistant Professor, Licensed Professional Counselor
,
St. Bonaventure University
Attendee & Presenter
Attendee/presenter
Presenter
,
Université de Montréal
Ms. M. Nam Holtz
Planning Committee , Attendee
,
Clinician, Producer/Director: Found in Korea
Professor of Psychology
,
Mount Saint Mary College
 Katy Perkins
Clinician and adopted person
,
Self
Attendee
,
California State University Long Beach
Adoptee/clinician
+7 more attendees. View All
Upcoming Sessions
831 visits