I can still hear my baby crying: The ambiguous loss of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers

I can still hear my baby crying: The ambiguous loss of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers

This study captures the experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers who lost a child to adoption and the impact of said loss on their health and wellbeing. Few studies examine the loss experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers despite their increased probability to lose...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family process Vol. 62; no. 2; pp. 702 - 721
Main Authors: Landers, Ashley L., Danes, Sharon M., Carrese, Domenica H., Mpras, Evdoxia, Campbell, Avery R., White Hawk, Sandy
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2023
Subjects:
Adopted children
Adoption
Ambiguity
ambiguous loss
American Indian/Alaska Native
American Indians
birthmothers
Boarding schools
Child welfare
Crying
Foster care
Foster children
Grief
Health problems
Indigenous peoples
Infants
Mental disorders
Mental health
Native North Americans
Resilience
Social environment
Substance abuse
Well being
心理健康
悲伤
模糊的丧子经历
生母
美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著人
United States > US
Alaska
心理健康
生母
ambiguous loss
birthmothers
mental health
模糊的丧子经历
American Indian/Alaska Native
美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著人
悲伤
grief
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study captures the experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers who lost a child to adoption and the impact of said loss on their health and wellbeing. Few studies examine the loss experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers despite their increased probability to lose a child to foster care and adoption. American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers are distinct from birthmothers of other races in their experiences of intergenerational and historical child loss, having disproportionately lost their children to systematic practices of child removal via boarding schools, the adoption era, and child welfare. Interview data from 8 American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged including: (1) the social context of losing a child to adoption for American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers, (2) the ambiguous loss of a child to adoption, (3) grief reactions to the loss, (4) the impact of the loss on birthmother health and wellbeing, and (5) creating resiliency. Findings suggest that American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers experience ambiguous loss, as well as elevated mental health problems and substance abuse following the loss of a child to adoption. 摘要 本研究记录研究了美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著人中生母的经历，这些生母在孩子被他人收养领走之后经历的缺失，以及这种缺失对她们健康和福祉的影响。很少有研究调查美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著生母经历的孩子被领养或收养之后失去孩子的经历，这种面临孩子被寄养在外人的可能性越来越增加了。美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著的生母与其他种族的生母在代际和历史上孩子不在身边的缺失经历是不同的，他们的孩子有几种情况不在身边，要么去了寄宿学校、要么被收养，还有其他造福儿童的福利措施等，这些系统性做法都导致了缺失。本研究采用归纳主题分析法对8位美国印第安人/阿拉斯加土著生育母亲的访谈资料进行分析。研究提出了五个主题，包括:(1) 美国印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民生母因孩子被收养之后而经历的缺失的社会背景; (2) 孩子被收养领走之后面临的缺失具有的模糊性; (3)对孩子不在的缺失的悲伤反应; (4)孩子在生活中的缺失对生母健康和福祉的影响; (5)创造复原力。调查结果表明，美国印第安人/阿拉斯加州土著的生母在孩子被收养后会产生似是而非的丧子的经历，以及严重的心理健康问题和药物滥用。
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0014-7370
1545-5300
DOI:10.1111/famp.12815