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Growing up between expectations and explanations : findings from the mixed methods longitudinal Zurich Adoption Study

Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Although placement in an adoptive family offers the opportunity to grow up in a safe family environment with multiple parental contacts, both pre-adoptive experiences and unique developmental challenges for adoptive parents and children can affect the child's well-being and positive development. To capture this emergence of challenges and conditions for well-being from a processual perspective, the Zurich Adoption Study was designed as longitudinal mixed-methods research. One of the main objectives is to understand the long-term consequences of interventions (adoption assessment) and to derive recommendations for assessment and post-adoption services - but also for the support of comparable family forms, such as families with children from sperm donation or surrogacy. Methods: In 2009 (t1), all 195 families who had adopted a child in the Canton of Zurich between 2003 and 2009 were surveyed using the standardized CBCL questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by 119 adoptive families. Of these families, 23 were selected in a quantitatively controlled manner. These adoptive parents were interviewed qualitatively about their experiences and impressions on the path to becoming an adoptive family. In 2014/2015 (t2) and 2022/2023 (t3), the quantitative and qualitative surveys were repeated using the same mixed methods and with the same samples. The children's perspective was considered from the beginning using creative methods and increasingly also using standardized questionnaires (YSR) and qualitative interviews (n=16) with the support of a peer researcher. Results and discussion: The quantitative CBCL results show in the long term: after the honeymoon phase with few behavioural problems at the very beginning (t1), there were “normalization tendencies”, but also an increase in clinical behavioural problems from t2. From t1 onwards, attention problems and externalizing problems are consistently overrepresented compared to the CBCL norm group. There is also a high degree of consistency in these problems and consequently a potential opportunity for early detection: most of the critical behaviours shown in t1 and/or t2 persisted in t3. The results of the qualitative interviews show that even if problems were recognized early (t1), adoptive parents often hesitate to seek help for a long time. If they do, they often start child-centred help and therapy because they do not want to fail as officially certified parents. From the point of view of the 14 young people interviewed (t3), however, their well-being depends above all on the quality and stability of their social relationships. These are important to cope with the various transitions and with the diverse experiences of othering or racism outside the family. At the same time, they try to actively negotiate their ideas of (adoptive) family and youth with multiple parenthood within the adoptive family. Taboos or gaps in knowledge about their origins can make this very difficult. In order to reach these adolescents or families who feel helpless or even worthless, low-threshold, trust-based services must start before the arrival of the adopted child. This also applies for other forms of childhood with multiple parents. Finally, the influence of current reappraisals of illegal international adoptions must also be taken into account.
Authors: Keller, Samuel, Gabriel, Thomas
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7111712076
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