Browsing by Author "Langenhoven, Cherith"

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    Adult adoptees’ perspectives on adoption
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-11-22) Langenhoven, Cherith; Greeff, A. P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study I explore the perspectives on adoption of searching adult adoptees who are living in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The motivation for this study was validated when a review of the South African literature indicated that most of the adoption research had been conducted with non-adoptees or adopted children, whereas this research focused solely on the perspectives of adult adoptees. The research aim was achieved by answering the following research question: What are adult adoptees’ perspectives on adoption? The theoretical framework for this study is Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, as well as Family Systems Theory. An exploratory qualitative research design was utilised due to its relevance to obtaining subjective adoption perspectives. Additionally, I applied specific procedures to ensure trustworthy research results. The adoptees were identified and recruited by Cape Town Child Welfare and through snowball sampling. A biographical questionnaire was utilised to add context to their responses. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, followed by probing questions when necessary, were used to collect data from 12 adoptees. Thematic analysis was implemented to analyse the data obtained, and the ATLAS.ti 7 (2015) software program was utilised as an organisational tool. The perspectives of the adult adoptees were identified and described within the following four meta-themes: 1) Optimistic adoption views, beliefs and values, 2) The integral role of the adoptive family in adoption, 3) The impact of adoption, and 4) Perceptions of adoption in society. These meta-themes individually include themes and subthemes. The findings indicate that adoption is a good option for alternative childcare and considered by most of the participants as a normal life experience. All of the adult adoptees believed in the positive nature of adoption and the possibility of positive adoption outcomes. However, a positive adoption experience is dependent on the adoptees’ access to their biological history, the absence of abuse, and open communicativeness on adoption within the adoptive family. The greatest adoption-related recommendation uncovered through this research is that adoptive parents, the extended family and society need to be educated appropriately to prepare them to understand adoption and their roles within adoption better.