Psychological implications of the ‘Back to the Origins' journey for intercountry adoptees

Abstract

One way in which intercountry adoptees can elaborate on their past history is through travelling to their country of birth. This article explores the memories and experiences recalled by a group of adoptees who visited their homeland after being adopted as children by Italian families. The sample comprised 34 participants aged between 12 and 40 years who visited their birth country between 2000 and 2013. In 2017–2018, they were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to obtain retrospective recall of their experiences and feelings on return to Italy, and how their ethnic identity and psychological well-being had been affected by the trip. The results revealed that the adoptees’ emotional experiences during the return visit significantly affected their feelings towards adoption itself and that it changed their sense of belonging both to Italy and the country where they were born. Most also perceived their return travel as a momentous occasion which increased their overall knowledge about their birth country and its culture. The results are significant for providing new information about how international adoptees incorporate their homeland culture into their lives.

Attachment and alexithymia predict emotional–behavioural problems of institutionalized, late‐adopted and community adolescents: An explorative multi‐informant mixed‐method study

“…However, results can be due to the small heterogeneous group, as some differences approached statistical significance, for example, LA adolescents showed higher attachment dismissal than COM peers with no difference with the residential care group in this type of insecurity. Therefore, researchers and professionals are invited to not stop to the absence of statistical difference with non‐adopted peers, maintaining clinical attention and long‐term attachment‐informed post‐adoptive monitoring in this group (Pace et al, 2018; Palacios et al, 2019; Santona et al, 2022, 2022), which may be still vulnerable as supposed not‐originally secure but developed‐secure in attachment after a positive adoption (Pace et al, 2019; Peñarrubia et al, 2022).…”

I am home. The circle is complete: The reunification of fostered/adopted relatives

“…Transracially adopted relatives are often aware of visible physical and racial differences between themselves and their adoptive family (Brodzinsky, 2011; Godon et al, 2014; Samuels, 2009). Transracially adopted relatives who encounter difficulty finding their birth family, may still be interested in connecting with their birthland and culture (Brocious, 2017; Santona et al, 2022). Reconnecting to birthplace and culture can play an important role in shaping the identity development of transracially adopted relatives (Santona et al, 2022) and can include the transracially adopted relative engaging in language learning, homeland/heritage tours, and interacting with their birth culture (Baden et al, 2012; Brocious, 2017).…”