Table of Contents

Chapter one.................................................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the problem...............................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the problem...................................................................................................................2
1.3 Research question and hypothesis......................................................................................................4
1.4 objective of the study.........................................................................................................................4
1.4.1 General objective........................................................................................................................4
1.4.2 Specific objective........................................................................................................................4
1.5 Significance of the study...................................................................................................................4
1.6 Limitation of the study.......................................................................................................................5
Chapter Two................................................................................................................................................5
2. Related literature review..........................................................................................................................5
Chapter three...............................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Research design.................................................................................................................................8
3.2 study area...........................................................................................................................................8
3.2.1 Population of the study...............................................................................................................8
3.3 Sampling technique...........................................................................................................................8
3.4 Data collection tools and method.......................................................................................................8
3.5 Methods of data analysis...................................................................................................................8
3.6 Ethical consideration.........................................................................................................................9
Chapter Four..............................................................................................................................................11
4. Time schedule.......................................................................................................................................11
Chapter Five..............................................................................................................................................12
5. BUDGET OF THE ESSAY WORK......................................................................................................12
6. REFERENCE........................................................................................................................................13

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 Chapter one

1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the problem
This days in the world adoption will be processed in many ways. In January 2018, Ethiopia set a
ban on all foreign adoption. Even though the country has 4.6 million children who are living as
orphans in the country, Ethiopia still banned foreign adoption.
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child from
that person’s biological or legal parent or parents. In our country there are many parents with
lowest or no income at all that is why many families prefer to give their child to be adopted.
The act of adoption, the assumption of legal and social responsibility for a child or dependent has
a long history as a means to provide for children whose parents are guardians are unable to care
for them. Adoption will be provided for children through almshouses, orphanages and
apprenticeships.
Adoption of children into a family occurs in all societies around the world. In many jurisdictions
the adopted person’s full original birth certificate is cancelled and replaced with fabricated post
adoption birth certificate that states that the child was born to the adoptive parents. When this
process carried out, may continue with the adopted persons for life and can be the cause for
many well documented traumas experienced by the adopted person including loss of identity,
family history culture biological family (including not only biological parents but also siblings
and extended family), family medical history and records and increased risk of suicide,
homelessness incarceration, PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Unlike the guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended
to effect a permanent change in status and as such require social recognition, either through legal
or religious sanction some societies have enacted specific laws governing adoption while others
used less formal means. Modern system of adoption arising in the 20th century, tend to be
governed by comprehensive statutes and regulation.
Young people explore their goals, values, and beliefs to develop a sense of identity in their
adolescence. Identity development begins during childhood, then, during adolescence,
crystallizing and solidifying one’s identity becomes a major focus of attention for most youth.
Identity can provide a person with direction and purpose, which in turn lays the groundwork for
adult psychosocial development. Identity includes such things as a career path, life goals, social

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roles, and a personal philosophy in regard to morality, religion, and politics. The salience of each
of these domains of identity varies from person to person, such that each individual must decide
which things give one’s life meaning and importance. This could also include their feelings
about their demographics such as race, gender, or being adopted.
When people form their identity they often need to have coherent stories to create and speak
about the meaning of their life and to link their identity to their past, present, and future. To
understand an adoptive identity, it is not productive to observe a person who has been adopted. It
is more informative to listen to the stories people tell or write about themselves.

1.2 Statement of the problem

As it’s known the adoption process becomes more open and accepted in Gondar,
and as more Gondarian have experience with adoption, but after the adoption is
processed, there is no any attention. The adopted person, the birth parents, and the
adoptive parents (often referred to as the adoption. triad or the adoption
constellation). This factsheet examines the impact of adoption on adopted persons
who have reached adulthood.

While it is difficult to make sweeping statements about such a large and diverse
group as adopted persons, adopted persons generally lead lives that are no different
from the lives of no adopted persons; however, they have experiences that are
unique to being adopted, and these experiences may have an impact on. There are
several themes that emerge from personal accounts and data from academic studies
about issues that adopted persons may face. This factsheet addresses these themes,
which include loss, the development of identity and self-esteem, interest in genetic
information, and managing adoption issues.
The loss of birth parents as a result of adoption may ssloss. This type of loss also
may increase the feelings of uncertainty (e.g., “Do I look like my biological
parents?”) an adopted person feels. Adopted persons who feel secure in their
adoption and have open adoptive family communication may be better able to
manage their uncertainty and grief. Additionally, adopted persons may have
difficulty finding an outlet because their grief may not be recognized by others.
Feelings of loss and grief, as well as anger, anxiety, or fear, may especially occur

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during emotionally charged milestones, such as marriage, the birth of a child, or
the death of a parent. Adopted persons may also suffer secondary losses. For
instance, along with the loss of their birth mother and birth father, adopted persons
may experience the loss of brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and
cousins. There also may be a loss of cultural connection or language (in cases of
inter country or transracial adoption). For those who were adopted as older
children, there may be a loss of friends, foster families, pets, schools,
neighborhoods, and familiar surroundings.
Identity Development
Identity formation begins in childhood and takes on increased importance and
prominence during adolescence. Adoption is a significant aspect of identity for
adopted persons, even when they are adults. The task of identity development may
be more difficult for an adopted person because of the additional issues related to
adoption, such as why he or she was placed for adoption, what became of the birth
parents, does he or she have siblings, and whether he or she resembles the birth
parents in looks or in other characteristics.
Self-Esteem
Often accompanying these issues of identity are issues of self-esteem—that is, how
the adopted person feels about him or herself. A number of studies have found that,
while adopted persons are similar to non-adopted persons in most ways, they often
score lower on measures of self-esteem and self-confidence. This result may reflect
the fact that some adopted persons may view themselves as different, out-of-place,
unwelcome, or rejected. Some of these feelings may result from the initial loss of
birth parents and from growing up away from birth parents, siblings, and extended
family members. Some adopted person report that secrecy surrounding their
adoption contribute to low self-esteem.
Genetic Information
Adopted persons often lack birth family genetic and medical history. This
information can be vitally important to the diagnosis and treatment of genetically
based medical conditions. In addition, being asked to supply medical history
information at a doctor’s appointment may make adopted persons acutely aware of
how they differ from those who were not adopted. Finding out later in life that they
were adopted as infants puts adopted persons at risk of misdiagnoses or other

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medical issues due to their long-held assumption of a family medical history that
they later find is incorrect. Additionally, when adopted persons plan to get married
or become a parent, they may want to know about genetic characteristics their
children may inherent.
1.3 Research question and hypothesis
1) have you ever think about the reason why you ever adopted? Why?
2) do you want to find your biological parents? Why?
3) do you feel different from everyone else? Why?
4) have you ever ask yourself “who am I
5)Are you ashamed of by your self?

1.4 objective of the study

1.4.1 General objective

 To investigate the psychological effect of the adopted kids and the impact in
their life.
1.4.2 Specific objective
 To enhance the rights and wellbeing of children affected by adoption
 To reduce the risk of sale, trafficking and inhuman treatment of children in
inter country adoption.
 Ethiopia has already banned foreign adoption, additionally to strength the
policies or to ensure the wellbeing of the previous adopted kids.
1.5 Significance of the study
- It might help to strength the countries policies in foreign adoption
- To identify the negative side of foreign adoption
- To appreciate local adoption
- To ensure the safety of adopted kids
1.6 Limitation of the study
It is very well known that many difficulties will happen during research. Some of
them are it is very hard to get a voluntary participant and even after we got
voluntary participant some of them are not answer correctly in other word there is
going to happen some biases. The research will take a lot of your time and very
tiresome.

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 Chapter Two

2. Related literature review

While many studies have been conducted on various aspects of adoption, researchers in the
social sciences agree that important research in the area of adoption and adoptive families is still
lacking (Krusiewicz & Wood, 2001). Some researchers have concluded that children who are
adopted are two to five times more likely than their non-adopted counterparts to seek
psychological treatment (“Adoption in the Schools Report,” 2006).

Rosenberg, 1992), researchers do not understand very well why this phenomenon occurs.
Although some propose that adoptive parents seek help for their children with greater ease than
do other parents (Warren, 1992), other researchers such as Sharma, McGue, and Benson (1998)
caution against concluding that adopted individuals are less-well adjusted.

In fact their research comparing a large, non-clinical sample of individuals adopted before the
age of 15 months with their non-adopted siblings and norms revealed that adoptees demonstrated
higher levels of psychological functioning in some areas and lower levels in other areas. The
authors hypothesized that those small differences in psychological functioning in some areas
among adoptees may account for the increased rate of clinical presentations.

Clearly society must hold some belief that adoption is not as natural as biological
Parenting or the question regarding whether or not adoptees are over-represented in mental
health facilities would not be researched (Miall, 1996). Merely asking the question appears to be
a stigmatization of adoption. In fact, many researchers have found that the social construction of
adoption can and does involve stigmas (Kline, Karel, & Chatterjee, 2006;

March, 1995; Miall, 1987; Wegar, 1997, 2000). Thus, the remaining literature review will
explore adoption as a stigma, the possible effects of stigma on an adoptee’s self-identity and self-

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esteem, understanding the concept of adoption, and the language used in conjunction with
adoption.
Adoption as a Stigma?
According to social science researchers, stigma is defined in multiple ways. Link and Phelan
(2001) defined it as the co-occurrence of labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and
discrimination. Goffman (1963), the prominent social researcher who studied stigmatization,
defined it as a discrediting attribute that reduces the bearer from a whole and normal person to a
tainted and discounted one with social failings
.
The conceptualization of adoption and the stigma attached thereto may be key
determinants of an adoptee’s psychological well-being (Link & Phelan, 2001.). In fact, scientists
have studied these concepts to understand how people form categories and associate these
categories with stereotyped beliefs. For instance, some studies have determined that both
adoptees and adoptive mothers report that others perceive them as abnormal or somehow second-
rate (Hollingsworth, 2000; March, 1995; Miall, 1987, 1996).

Kline et al. (2006) found that 52% of media news stories about adoption contained stigmatizing
claims, such as depicting adoptees with emotional and identity issues. Additionally, Creedy’s
(2000) broad analysis of print, advertisements, and media stories reinforced negative
misperceptions about birth families, adopted children, and adoptive parents.

Thus, Creed recommended abroad public education campaign about adoption to raise awareness
of adoption relationships and language that should be used to describe them. In the future,
researchers should attempt to bridge the gap between empirically-supported information
concerning the psychological functioning of adopted individuals instead of using stereotypes and
hearsay to describe differences that may or may not exist (Sharma, McGue, & Benson, 1998).
Other researchers have concluded that such stigmatizing beliefs can make the social construct of
“adoption” a personal identity issue which becomes challenging for adoptees.

Adoptive Identity-Self-identity, Self-esteem,

Adoptive identity, an extremely multi-faceted phenomenon, is the sense of who one is as an

adopted person (Grotevant et al., 2000). Its development is based on how an individual
constructs meaning about his or her adoption. All individuals, and especially adolescents, form a
sense of identity. However, according to Grotevant (1997), adoption adds another dimension of
“differentness” to assimilate into one’s sense of self. Additionally, adoptive identity cannot be
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understood without placing it in the context of societal attitudes toward kinship and adoption
(Grotevant et al.). Thus, others’ definitions, formed through social interactions, play an important
role in the development of every person’s identity.

Several studies have compared adopted and non-adopted adolescents (Benson,

Sharma, & Roehlkepartain, 1994; Hoopes, Sherman, Lawder, Andrews, & Lower, 1970; Stein &
Hoopes, 1985) and found little or no differences between the adolescents’ identity formations.
Clearly, many adopted and non-adopted individuals undergo identity confusions that are totally
unrelated to adoption.
Kohler, Grotevant, and McRoy (2002) also studied adopted individuals’ identities and concluded
that identity confusion is not an inherent outcome for adopted individuals.
Furthermore, these researchers surmised that some adoptees may be troubled by the social
construction of their adopted status as opposed to having psychological difficulties; they contend
that focusing on the psychological issue of identity formation may be erroneous because in many
cases the stigmatization of adoption is the root cause for identity confusion.
Thus, cultural or systemic causes should be explored as contributors to an adoptee’s identity
confusion.
Adoptees may perceive these beliefs from their social environments, which may elicit negative
feelings of self-worth or self-identity (Grotevant et al., 2000). For example, March’s(1995)
qualitative study revealed that adopted individuals reported a common theme of being “different”
due to their adoptive status. Specifically, the theme was associated with adoptees’ perceptions of
adoption as a social stigma and desires for original blood ties.

Adoption Language
Another consideration in “telling” children about their adoptive status is the language used to
convey this construct. Currently, there is a shift for parents and professionals to use
positive, respectful language that is less suggestive that adopted individuals are “different” or
“unnatural.” Many from professionals believe it is important to use Language respectful of
adoption and its participants. For instance, it is preferable to say “birthmother” rather than
“Natural mother,” to avoid suggesting
That there is something “unnatural” about adoptive Mothering (Grotevant et al., 2000).

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 Chapter three

3.1 Research design

In the research study the researcher will use descriptive survey design for the purpose of
providing information on the current Ethiopia foreign adoption policies. It involve collecting
data through questionnaire.

3.2 study area

The study will be conducted in orphanage, namely Bridge of hope Ethiopia in Gondar town the
town was located at 745km north west of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Since the last
decade there has been rapid population movement for searching job

3.2.1 Population of the study

The population of the study will be conducted in northern Gondar orphanage who has been
adopted before 2006 E.C in bridge of hope Ethiopia orphanage children who want to participate
in the study will be conducted to the research.

3.3 Sampling technique

Sampling technique will be used to select respondents of this study. From the orphanage more
than 75 children will participate in the study.

3.4 Data collection tools and method

In the study the data collection will be conducting the physical and the psychological effect on
the children in the foreign adoption from the selected sample participant used different methods
questioners, interview watching old videos and so on. The questioners will be takes place
through e-mail, video call & if it is necessary I use also phone calls this is due to place matters.
And also I use secondary data sources like previously done documents, different websites &
journals.

3.5 Methods of data analysis

In this section data is presented and analyzed based on the questionnaires that will be filled &
collected on the secondary sources.

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3.6 Ethical consideration
In this research the researcher was followed those ethical consideration strictly is keep secured
the voluntaries confidentially their name; religion and age are not identified without the
voluntary permission.

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 Chapter Four

4. Time schedule

Month December January February March April

Week 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Title
selection
Preparing
of proposal
Data
collection
Data
analysis
Preparing
of final
paper

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 Chapter Five

5. BUDGET OF THE ESSAY WORK

Description quantity unit price total price
Paper 20 50Cent 10 Birr
Pen 1 10 Birr 10 Birr
Internet 50MG 1 Birr 50 Birr
Print 12 Page 1 Birr 19 Birr
Subtotal 89 Bir

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6. REFERENCE
 Erickson, E. (1964) Childhood and society. New York: Norton
 Frisk, M (1964) Identity problems and confused conception of the genetic ego in adoptive
children during adolescence
 Gil A. G & Vega W.A.(1996) Two different worlds : Acculturation stress and adoption
among Cuban and Nicaraguan families. Journal of social and personal relationships.

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