Internationellt Adopterades Psykiska Ohälsa under 16-26 års åldern - en hemeunetisk narrativ text analys av tidigare forskning

Abstract

Problem area of this Bachelor thesis is the mental illness of internationally adopted at the age of 16-26. Our study focuses on a compilation of previous results from positivistic researches in the first question formulation. In the second and third question formulations a narrative text analysis, through hermeneutically interpret risk and prevention factors, is carried out for the life of internationally adopted that can lead to mental health/illness and how they apprehend to be adoptees. The purpose is to get a comprehensive understanding at individual, group and society's view of their lives. Further intention is to interpret the material for possible approach angles on further research. These interpretations cannot be used for any real conclusions. Issues on the basis of this purpose are:

1. How can mental illness for internationally adopted look like? 2. What protective and risk factors in terms of mental health problems in internationally adopted life at 16-26 years of age, can we interpret in the material? 3. How does international adoptees experience themselves, as the fact that they are adopted?

The methodology of this study is hermeneutic and therefore focuses on understanding of what happens between people. Previous research is mostly made from a positivistic perspective, hence have we chosen a hermeneutic perspective to highlight the positivistic research along with qualitative research, which gives us different understandings as individual, group and society's perspective upon the internationally adopted lives. The limitations with this research are that no substantially conclusion can be made from the hermeneutic approach, only different understandings on the internationally adopted lives and mental illness.

The new understandings that came through from the interpretations of previous research is that there are an inherent conflict in the adoption process, because the adoptive parents wants the children to succeed, but previous research made on the adoptees own opinions, show that adoption is not always successful and it's not always easy. This illustrates that there are two parties that meets with each an abandonment that becomes vulnerability. The children are abandoned by their biological parents and the adoptive parents, who are unable to get children on their own, are abandoned by their own bodies and this is of significance for the interaction between parents and children. Furthermore, it shows that international adoptees are vulnerable to discrimination and this affects on how they see themselves. Their identity development becomes difficult, because they have grown up in a Swedish family and therefore feel like they are Swedish, but they look like immigrants and are treated by the society as that. The international adoptees are also under a lot of pressure from their parents' social class, and this affects their identity development. Several researches shows that the process of development can be prolonged with the international adoptees, which leads to abnormal behaviour and mental illness at lower adolescence, may at a later time as a young adult, be a perfectly normal behaviour. We highlight questions about the ethical issues in adoption and if this is for the best interest of the children or if it is based on the western world childless couples' right to have children.