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Adoption reunions: an exploratory study of the ‘lived experience’ of Irish adult intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth families in the digital age
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Date
2023
Authors
Shier, Anne Marie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
This research explores the lived experiences of reunion for young adults who are adopted internationally to Ireland. It examines how intercountry adoptees have reunions with their birth families online and in-person, and how experiences of contact and reunion with their birth family contribute to their identity construction. The rationale for studying reunion in intercountry adoption to Ireland is that it is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the first cohort of intercountry adoptees to Ireland now reaching adulthood. Therefore, the study makes a unique contribution to this field of research by addressing a gap in research on the experiences of reunion with birth families among intercountry adoptees to Ireland. A further significant contribution which the study offers is a focus on how social media and technology are used in the process of reunion.
An interpretivist approach was used to provide insight into the reunion experiences of internationally adopted people in Ireland. This thesis adopts a qualitative research methodology with the data drawn from in-depth, semi-structured interviews completed over twelve months with twelve intercountry adoptees aged between nineteen and thirty. All of the participants were internationally adopted to Ireland and have had reunions with their birth families online and/or in person. Theoretical concepts centred around a sociological approach to identity construction and relevant literature were used to explore and illuminate the experiences of intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth family.
The transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate the transformative role of social media and technology on reunion in intercountry adoption. The affordances of social media and technology facilitated searching for and connecting with family members online, often at a fast pace. The online contact ‘normalised’ and provided a ‘safe space’ for birth family contact and identity construction. A significant finding was the extent to which birth siblings act as facilitators and mediators of participants’ online contact with birth parents, and the way that online contact facilitated participants’ engagement in impression management to control and manage their identity narratives. The findings highlight the immersive embodied experiences of in-person contact which frequently involved staying with birth family and provided opportunities for ‘mothering’ and sharing family cultural rituals and routines. Challenges associated with the reunion including managing boundaries, financial expectations and accessing information are presented. The research findings demonstrate the importance of birth family contact and information for intercountry adoptees and the key role this plays in identity formation.
This research contributes to knowledge by reconceptualising what is meant by a ‘reunion’ in an intercountry adoption context; highlighting the significant role of social media technology in reunion in intercountry adoption; emphasising the continued importance of in-person contact and demonstrating the way that sociological approaches to identity can be used as a lens to explore the experiences of intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth families. Finally, this research provides recommendations for policy, practice and research concerning reunion in intercountry adoption.
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Keywords
Intercountry adoption , International adoption , Adoption reunion , Birth family contact , Social media and technology , Online birth family contact , Qualitative
Citation
Shier, A. M. 2023. Adoption reunions: an exploratory study of the ‘lived experience’ of Irish adult intercountry adoptees who have reunions with their birth families in the digital age. DSocSc Thesis, University College Cork.