Family Experiences After International Adoption

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to determine the types of experiences faced by families in France who have adopted a child internationally. In addition, internationally adopted adolescents are invited to respond to questions about their own personal experiences.

Detailed Description
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Microaggressions, or unintended discrimination related to adoption have been widely investigated in the USA. These microaggressions may relate to both adoptive status and country of origin, or both. However, the prevalence and qualitative characteristics of these events have been seldom studied in other countries. Differences in cultural norms and practices among countries might influence the type and frequency of microaggressions experienced by adopted children and their families. Brief anonymous questionnaires devised to elicit personal experiences related to microaggressions will be distributed by 4 clinical services serving this population (3 pediatric, 1 child psychiatric) and by 2 large adoptive family support networks to adoptive parents in France. Frequencies and relations between experience of micro-aggressions and other variables will be analyzed.

Official Title
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Family Experiences After International Adoption

Conditions
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Discrimination, Racial

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Parents : Parents of an internationally adopted child, whose placement occurred at least 6 months ago Willing and able to complete a questionnaire Adolescents : Internationally adopted adolescents who were placed at least 6 months ago Willing and able to complete a questionnaire Exclusion Criteria: Parents : 1. Unwilling or unable to complete the questionnaire Adolescents : Parents are unwilling for child to participate Child is unwilling to participate Unable to understand the questions

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 11 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number and type of micro-aggressions experienced by French families who have adopted internationally | Parents will respond to a questionnaire regarding their experiences of micro-aggressions as an adoptive family in France, enumerating the types of discrimination (if any) they have encountered, in what context or environment this occurred, and their feelings in response to these experiences. The types of micro-aggressions could include hearing derogatory comments about adoption in general, their child's country of origin or appearance, etc. Parents may also experience well-meaning but uninformed comments (how much did she cost?) which are also experienced as micro-aggressions. Simple frequency statistics enumerating these experiences will be compiled. These will be compared to basic demographic indicators such as the country of origin of the child, the child's age at adoption, the child's current age, the time interval since adoption, etc. | parents respond to a questionnaire at a single time point, regarding their experience. Participation is hence limited to the 30 minutes required to complete the questionnaire. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number and type of micro-aggressions experienced by internationally adopted adolescents in France | Adolescents will respond to a questionnaire regarding their experiences of micro-aggressions as adopted individuals in France, enumerating the types of discrimination (if any) they have encountered, in what context or environment this occurred, and their feelings in response to these experiences. The types of micro-aggressions could include hearing derogatory comments about adoption in general, their country of origin or appearance, etc. Adolescents may also experience well-meaning but uninformed comments (why did your real parents abandon you?) which are also experienced as micro-aggressions. Simple frequency statistics enumerating these experiences will be compiled. These will be compared to basic demographic indicators such as their country of origin, their age at adoption, their current age, the time interval since adoption, etc. | Adolescents respond to a questionnaire at a single time point, regarding their experiences as an adopted person in France. Participation is hence limited to the 30 minutes required to complete the questionnaire. | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Adolescents, International adoption, Family experiences, France