Family Experiences Concerning Adopting a Previously Institutionalized Child from Russia or Romania

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dc.contributor.authorLinville, Deanna Christineen
dc.contributor.committeechairJohnson, Scott W.en
dc.contributor.committeememberProuty, Anne M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberAlbers, Lisaen
dc.contributor.committeememberPiercy, Fred P.en
dc.contributor.committeememberSawyers, Janet K.en
dc.contributor.departmentHuman Developmenten
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:12:57Zen
dc.date.adate2003-06-27en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:12:57Zen
dc.date.issued2003-05-12en
dc.date.rdate2004-06-27en
dc.date.sdate2003-06-12en
dc.description.abstractThe number of families choosing to adopt a child internationally in the United States has increased exponentially on an annual basis (Johnson, 1997; Miller, 2000). The purpose of this study was to understand the adoption process experiences of families who have adopted a child between the ages of three and five years old from Russia or Romania after 1992. In this clinical sample, all participants' adopted children had been referred for and undergone neuropsychological, medical, speech, and/or language evaluation. Specifically, the research questions were designed to help therapists understand the role mental health care professionals, schools, family members, and friends played in the adoption process and how the participants' experiences compared with their preadoptive expectations. Twenty families were interviewed and several observations were conducted. Data analysis consisted of thematic analysis which elicited codes and themes across the interviews. This study's findings suggest that: 1) parents would have found more preparation before adoption helpful in the process; 2) health care professionals and schools need to be better educated about problems, concerns, and appropriate treatments specific to post-institutionalized children; 3) raising (a) special needs child(ren) puts significant strain on the caregiver(s) and their significant relationships; and 4) families with special needs children are extremely resilient. These findings are important for education and healthcare professionals, families who are planning to adopt internationally in the future and current adoptive families.en
dc.description.degreePh. D.en
dc.identifier.otheretd-06122003-151315en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06122003-151315/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/28022en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartthewholething2.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectEastern European adoption experiencesen
dc.subjectinternational adoptionen
dc.subjectfamily therapyen
dc.subjectpost-institutionalized childrenen
dc.titleFamily Experiences Concerning Adopting a Previously Institutionalized Child from Russia or Romaniaen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineHuman Developmenten
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.namePh. D.en

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