The experiences of parents and children who have lived through adoption breakdown: a systematic review; and, the benefits and challenges of delivering the by your side intervention, with a focus on recommendations for best practice guidance

Barrett, Romi 2023. The experiences of parents and children who have lived through adoption breakdown: a systematic review; and, the benefits and challenges of delivering the by your side intervention, with a focus on recommendations for best practice guidance. ClinPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Children are placed in adoptive families to provide permanence when they are unable to grow up with or return to their birth family. In westernised countries, most children that are adopted come from child protection systems, having been removed from their birth parents due to neglect or abuse. Research has consistently shown benefits of adoption over temporary care arrangements, in terms of ensuring stability through legal, residential and psychological permanence, and unstable placements have been found to contribute to the poor life trajectory for children in temporary care. Although many children are able to achieve permanency with their adoptive families, there are a minority who experience severe difficulties, resulting in the separation of children and their adoptive parents. Such events are typically referred to as ‘adoption breakdown’ or ‘disruption’. The detrimental impacts of such losses on children and their families, and the additional demands these place on services that support them have been well-documented within reviews of the quantitative literature, however the voices of parents, and especially children, who have lived through adoption breakdown are under-represented and under-emphasised in the research field. With a good start, it is thought that adoptions are less likely to end prematurely. The importance of a planned transition to the child’s new home is considered to be a major factor in whether the adoptive placement is a successful one. Research supports that difficult introductions (such as the child finding the transition to their adoptive home hard to cope with), have been linked with more challenges experienced later on in the child’s placement. Despite these findings, the evidence-base regarding what makes a transition ‘successful’ is extremely limited, and there remains a disparity between the knowledge base around the making and breaking of attachments in childhood, and the way that children and infants are moved from foster care to adoption. Current literature emphasises the importance of the integration of theory to ensure best practice in adoption transitions. This thesis addresses the gaps outlined above through a systematic review and synthesis of the current qualitative research into families’ experiences of adoption breakdown, and, an empirical study of professionals’ views of the ‘By Your Side’ therapeutic transition intervention. Paper one is a systematic review which examines the existing qualitative literature to bring together the views of adopted children and parents who have experienced adoption breakdown. Searches identified ten relevant studies, and a meta-ethnographic synthesis identified six themes: Processes in Adoption Breakdown; Support as Two Sides of a Coin; Conflicted Sense of Self and Identity; Sense of Impermanence and Belonging Nowhere; The Experience of Complex and Multiple Loss; and, Moving Forward and Offering Knowledge to Others. The review identified how the process of adoption breakdown occurs cumulatively, and over time. Families would benefit from adoption services which adapt to provide support across the adoptive family life cycle, including preventative and post-breakdown support. Support needs to be focused on psychological integration of all of the child’s families, and improving attachment to their adoptive parents. The findings are limited by a small research base and a lack of consistency across the methodology and context of the studies. The review highlighted the need for further research examining the concept of relational permanency, and, the effectiveness of transition interventions on later adoption breakdown. Paper two is an empirical study exploring practitioners’ experiences of facilitating adoption transitions using the By Your Side (BYS) intervention. The research aimed to inform further development of the intervention, and to address the knowledge gap between theory and practice. A total of ten adoption professionals completed semi-structured interviews, and data was analysed using a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach. Results identified five key themes: BYS Viewed as ‘Gold Standard’ Transition Practice, and this comes with Challenges; Relationally Healthy and Cohesive Systems Support Good Quality Transitions; BYS sees Transitions as ‘Holding the Child at the Heart’ of Practice; BYS Acts Like ‘Ripples in a Pond’; and, BYS Seen as an Investment in Placement Stability. Findings suggest that the BYS intervention builds on previous literature, offers a clear framework to guide adoption transitions which are best practice and preventative, and, could be applied across a range of children’s care settings. Challenges to good practice remain, including access to adequate resources. Findings are limited by using a self-selected sample. however careful probes were used to draw out perceived challenges or weaknesses of the intervention. Further research, including gathering the perspectives of adopted children and their parents, would enhance understanding of the impact of successful transitions on long-term placement outcomes.

Item Type:	Thesis (DClinPsy)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 September 2023
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2024 01:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162373

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