Adopting transracially in the Western Cape: understanding families’ experiences in context
dc.contributor.advisor | Swartz, Leslie | en_ZA |
dc.contributor.author | Luyt, Jean | en_ZA |
dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology. | en_ZA |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-01-18T11:46:44Z | en_ZA |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-18T06:56:12Z | en_ZA |
dc.date.available | 2023-01-18T11:46:44Z | |
dc.date.available | 2023-05-18T06:56:12Z | en_ZA |
dc.date.issued | 2023-03 | en_ZA |
dc.description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. | en_ZA |
dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transracial adoption was legalised in South Africa in 1991 after legislation prohibiting it was removed, but it remains controversial. International research into transracial adoption includes outcomes studies, studies on identity development of transracial adoptees and parents’ efforts at ethnic-racial socialisation. Research into transracial adoption tends to focus on the transracially adopted children and adoptive mothers with experiences of other members of the family and the transracial adoptive family as a whole only starting to get attention recently. Relevance of international research may be limited because of significant contextual differences in South Africa. Limited research into transracial adoption in South Africa includes research into the attitudes towards transracial adoption and experiences of adoptive parents, particularly mothers, and adoptees. The research tends to be exploratory, uses varied theoretical paradigms and methodology, based on small sample sizes. The experience of transracial adoption is best understood in the context of family and no research into the tasks and challenges facing the transracial adoptive family exists in South Africa. This research on the experiences of transracial adoptive families in the Western Cape, was conducted via qualitative methodology, using a family life cycle model as a theoretical framework. Using this framework allowed me to describe and investigate the experiences, challenges and tasks facing transracial adoptive families without pathologising them. Twenty-six transracial adoptive families were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. The sample included 31 adoptive parents, (25 woman and 6 men) and eight adoptees (five adopted girls, two adopted boys and one female adult adoptee). Data gathering was conducted by means of 12 semi-structured family interviews and six focus groups. Themes emerging from iterative thematic analysis were reported according to the life stage of the adoptive family. The challenges related to the pre-placement phase are related to making the decision to adopt and managing the adoption process. In South African transracial adoptive families, barriers to biological parenthood are not the only motivation to adopt, and a significant number of transracial adoptive families have both adopted and biological children. Significant challenges faced by prospective adoptive parents in the adoption process include the demanding nature and lack of uniformity of the adoption process, post-placement bureaucracy and significant ambivalence towards adoption social workers. Post-placement, the biological family and the adoptive family are permanently joined, even if the adoptive family wishes to deny this. Creating a transracial adoptive family identity and managing relationships with biological family are ongoing challenges for the transracial adoptive family in the post-placement phase. Different aspects of these ongoing tasks become salient at different stages of the life cycle, prompted by individual development, family development and changes in the external environment. Implications for adoption policy and practice and support offered to the transracial adoptive family are discussed. The limitations to the study include the limited number of men, lack of non-adopted siblings who participated and the sample being skewed towards families with young children. This limited the opportunity to investigate aspects related to all family members and later stages in the life cycle model. | en_ZA |
dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Transrasaanneming (TRA) bly kontroversieel ten spyte dat die proses in 1991 in Suid-Afrika gewettig is, nadat wetgewing, wat dit verbied het, afgeskaf is. Internasionale navorsing oor transrasaanneming sluit uitkomsstudies, studies oor identiteitsontwikkeling van transrasaangenome kinders en ouers se pogings tot etniese-rassosialisering in. Navorsing oor transrasaanneming is geneig om te fokus op die transrasaangenome kinders en aanneemmoeders. Aandag is eers onlangs geskenk aan ervarings van ander familielede en die transrasaanneem-familie as geheel. Die toepaslikheid van internasionale navorsing mag beperk wees as gevolg van beduidende kontekstuele verskille in Suid-Afrika. Die beperkte navorsing oor transrasaanneming in Suid-Afrika sluit navorsing oor die houdings teenoor transrasaanneming en ervarings van aanneemouers, veral moeders en aangenome kinders in. Die navorsing is geneig om verkennend te wees, gebruik te maak van gevarieerde paradigmas en metodologieë gebaseer op klein steekproefgroottes. Die ervaring van transrasaanneming word ten beste verstaan binne die familiekonteks en geen navorsing oor die take en uitdagings wat die transrasaanneem-familie in die gesig staar, bestaan in SuidAfrika nie. Hierdie navorsing oor die ervarings van die transrasaanneem-families in die Wes-Kaap is uitgevoer deur van kwalitatiewe metodologie gebruik te maak met ‘n familielewenssiklusmodel as teoretiese raamwerk. Die gebruik van hierdie raamwerk laat ons toe om hierdie ervarings, uitdagings en take, wat transrasaannem-families in die gesig staar, te beskryf en te ondersoek sonder om hul te patologiseer. Ses-en-twintig transrasaanneem-families is deur gerieflikheids- en sneeubalsteekproeftrekking gewerf. Die steekproef het 31 aanneemouers (25 vroue en ses mans), agt aangenome kinders (vyf aangenome dogters, twee aangenome seuns en een volwasse vroulike persoon) ingesluit. Data-insameling is uitgevoer deur middel van twaalf semigestruktureerde familie-onderhoude en ses fokusgroepe. Temas, wat deur iteratiewe tematiese-analise na vore gekom het, is volgens die lewenstadium van die aanneemfamilie gerapporteer. Die uitdagings, wat die voorplasingsfase betref, het betrekking op die besluit om aan te neem en die bestuur van die aanneemproses. In Suid-Afrikaanse transrasaanneem-families is die hindernisse vir biologiese ouerskap nie die enigste beweegrede tot aanneming nie, en ‘n beduidende getal transrasaanneem-families het beide aangenome en biologiese kinders. Beduidende uitdagings, wat voornemende aanneemouers tydens die aannemingsproses in die gesig staar, sluit die veeleisende aard en tekort aan eenvormigheid in die proses, naplasingsburokrasie en beduidende ambivalensie teenoor aannemings-maatskaplike werkers in. Na plasing is die biologiese familie en die aanneemfamilie permanent verbind al mag die aanneem-familie dit wil ontken. Die skepping van ‘n transrasaanneem-familieidentiteit en die bestuur van verhoudings met biologiese familie, is voortslepende uitdagings vir die transrasaanneem-familie in die na-plasingsfase. Die onderskeie aspekte van hierdie voortslepende take raak belangrik tydens verskillende stadia van die lewensiklus en word aangewakker deur indiwiduele ontwikkeling, familie-ontwikkeling en veranderinge in die eksterne omgewing. | af_ZA |
dc.description.version | Doctoral | en_ZA |
dc.format.extent | xx, 410 pages | en_ZA |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/126927 | en_ZA |
dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
dc.subject.lcsh | Interracial adoption -- Western Cape (South Africa) | en_ZA |
dc.subject.lcsh | Adoptive parents -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Western Cape (South Africa) | en_ZA |
dc.subject.lcsh | Families -- Western Cape (South Africa) | en_ZA |
dc.subject.lcsh | Child welfare -- Western Cape (South Africa) | en_ZA |
dc.title | Adopting transracially in the Western Cape: understanding families’ experiences in context | en_ZA |
dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |
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