La construction sociale de la relation adoptive: expériences parentales de l'adoption d'enfants grands à l'international

Current tranformations in the international practice of child adoption has impacts on adoptive family construction. Adoption applicants are constrained to redefine their preparation, their expectations and criteria about the children they are willing to adopt; as those who become available for adoption are fewer, older and are likely to have increased special needs at arrival. This study explored the evolution of significant parent-child relationships outside of the ordinary (step by step) family building process; from the perspective of parents who adopted older children, internationally. As they enter their families with the prior integration of sensory, emotional, physical and social experiences elsewhere, these children push their new parents to consider new ways to establish a relationship. Therefore, adoptive families of older children move through a very different constitutionnal process that doesn't benefit from an early life start; nor do they benefit from a knowledge of their earlier histories. 20 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 adoptive parents (prospectively over the first year postadoption; and retrospectively, 2 years following). This group of participants represented 28 children adopted internationally; all have a prolonged history of institutionnal care and were adopted between 14 and 54 months of age. Findings indicate that complications of the preadoptive process can be experienced in the longer term for some parents; notably in a performance stress in the execution of the parenting role during the first year and beyond; and in response to some children's lasting difficulties. The currect construct of the 'all encompassing parent-child relationship' (parents being perceived as the main psychological builders of their child, notably, of his attachment style) has limitations that are sharply experienced by adoptive parents of older children. This construct acts as a reference point for parents, but can come to neglect the other influences on their children's development and other family or social dynamics. Practices must encourage a more equitable repartition of efforts to support these children in their new communities, and should facilitate the coordination of necessary health and psychosocial services. The overvalorization of adoptive parents as the only garanties in their children's socioemotionnal development is meeting important limits; that are shaped, among other factors, by their adverse preadoptive context. Keywords : International adoption; adoptive families; parent-child relationship; older children; family integration; adaptation.

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