Longing to belong: The ambiguous loss of Indigenous fostered/adopted individuals.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Indigenous fostered/adopted individuals report high levels of grief because of their foster care/adoption. Little has been done, however, to explore how grief is experienced and the factors that contribute to said grief for fostered/adopted Indigenous individuals.OBJECTIVE: This study examined the experiences of loss and grief of Indigenous individuals fostered/adopted during childhood.PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 102 Indigenous fostered/adopted individuals who described the experiences of loss and grief related to adoption.METHODS: This study utilized secondary data from the Fostered and Adopted Individuals Project. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on open-ended survey data.RESULTS: Two themes emerged: (1) ambiguous loss as a result of foster care and adoption and (2) the effects of the ambiguous loss that stem from foster care and adoption. Indigenous fostered/adopted persons experienced ambiguous loss in foster care and adoption. Their loss remained unresolved due to a loss of access to information about their family and tribe of origin. Although family of origin, tribal community, and culture were not physically present due to separation by foster care/adoption, they remained psychologically present. As a result of ambiguous loss, participants experienced disenfranchised grief, wondering and longing to belong, and mental health and substance abuse.CONCLUSION: This study is the first of its kind to explore the loss and grief experiences of fostered/adopted Indigenous individuals using ambiguous loss theory. Ambiguous loss theory offers a framework for contextualizing the loss and grief that begins at separation and is present in adulthood.