Abstract

This study investigates how Ethiopian adoptees and adoptive parents in Australia experience attachment to each other post-adoption. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Ethiopian adoptees and eight adoptive parents. Thematic analysis returned four themes, indicating that attachment experiences were affected by the following: age at adoption; separation anxiety and survival mechanisms; biological family access; and identity formation. The findings contribute to improved understanding of Ethiopian adoptees’ attachment experiences in Australia, and highlight unmet needs surrounding post-adoption support, in particular, support relating to post-adoption attachment.

摘要

本研究调查了在澳大利亚的埃塞俄比亚收养者和养父母在收养后如何体验彼此的依恋。对八名埃塞俄比亚收养者和八名养父母进行了半结构化访谈。主题分析返回了四个主题，表明依恋经历受到以下因素的影响：收养年龄；分离焦虑和生存机制；生物家庭访问；和身份形成。这些发现有助于加深对埃塞俄比亚被收养者在澳大利亚的依恋经历的理解，并突出了围绕收养后支持的未满足需求，特别是与收养后依恋相关的支持。