doktorska disertacija
Nataša Vrbnjak (Author), Tanja Pate (Mentor)

Abstract

Posvojitev je socialnovarstveni ukrep države za zaščito otrok, katerih starši so umrli ali zanje ne morejo ali nočejo skrbeti. Izkazala se je za najprimernejšo rešitev, saj rešuje stisko vseh treh strani v t. i. posvojiteljski triadi: zapuščenih otrok, njihovih bioloških staršev in parov, ki ne morejo imeti bioloških otrok, a odpira zaradi mnogih okoliščin, genetskih ter raznovrstnih pre- in poposvojitvenih, ki vplivajo na psihološki razvoj otroka, tudi številna vprašanja, na katera mednarodno raziskovalno okolje še vedno išče verodostojne odgovore. Ker kažejo mednarodne raziskave psihološkega razvoja oseb z izkušnjo posvojitve v primerjavi s tistimi, ki so odraščali v biološki družini, nasprotujoče si rezultate in so tiste, ki obravnavajo odrasle z izkušnjo posvojitve, maloštevilne, je manj znanega o dolgoročnih posledicah te intervencije, zato smo želeli v tej doktorski disertaciji na tej populaciji in v našem kulturnem okolju preveriti, ali se njihova samopodoba razlikuje od samopodobe ljudi, ki so odraščali v biološki družini, ter ugotoviti, ali se njihova sposobnost za intimo in regulacijo čutenj loči od sposobnosti za intimo in regulacijo čutenj odraslih, ki so odraščali v biološki družini. Poleg tega smo želeli ugotoviti, kaj je odraslim z izkušnjo posvojitve, ki so uspeli razviti dobro samopodobo, pomagalo do tega oziroma kateri dejavniki so k temu prispevali. Želeli smo tudi preveriti, ali je relacijska družinska terapija kot nova, inovativna metoda učinkovita pri izboljšanju samopodobe ter sposobnosti za bližino in regulacijo čutenj odraslih z izkušnjo posvojitve in kateri njeni vidiki so pri tem v pomoč. Doktorska disertacija z naslovom Samopodoba ter sposobnosti za bližino in regulacijo čutenj odraslih z izkušnjo posvojitve z vidika relacijske družinske terapije je razdeljena na kvantitativni in kvalitativni del. V teoretičnem delu smo se posvetili osvetlitvi fenomenov, kot so posvojitev, samopodoba, identiteta in samospoštovanje, intima in strah pred njo, regulacija čustev ter zavrženost kot relacijska travma, in predstavili osnove relacijske družinske terapije. Zadnje poglavje smo namenili biblično-teološkemu delu, v katerem smo predstavili nekatere dele, ki se nanašajo na odnos do sirot. Empirični del obsega kvantitativni in kvalitativni del. V kvantitativnem delu smo ugotavljali razlike med samopodobo ter sposobnostjo za intimo in regulacijo čutenj oseb z izkušnjo posvojitve in tistih, ki so odraščali v biološki družini, ter razlike v samopodobi in sposobnostih za intimno in regulacijo čutenj posameznikov z izkušnjo posvojitve, ki so bili vključeni v skupinsko terapijo po modelu RDT, in posameznikov z izkušnjo posvojitve, ki v skupinsko terapijo po modelu RDT niso bili vključeni. Hipotezi smo preverili na populaciji odraslih, ki so bili posvojeni (24 udeležencev), in odraslih, ki so odraščali v biološki družini (64 udeležencev), z vprašalniki o samopodobi (RSES in SERS), strahu pred intimo (FIS) in čustvenem procesiranju (EPS). Rezultati so pokazali, da se odrasli z izkušnjo posvojitve v samopodobi, strahu pred intimo in regulaciji čutenj statistično pomembno ne razlikujejo od odraslih, ki so odraščali v biološki družini, čeprav smo pri prvih na večini lestvic izmerili povprečno boljše rezultate. Prav tako so rezultati pokazali, da med skupino, ki je obiskovala skupinsko terapijo po modelu RDT, in skupino, ki se v terapijo ni vključila, po terapiji ni statistično pomembnih razlik v samopodobi, strahu pred intimo in regulaciji čutenj, čeprav smo v skupini, ki je obiskovala terapijo, na vseh opazovanih spremenljivkah izmerili boljše rezultate. V kvalitativnem delu smo se posvetili identifikaciji dejavnikov, ki so prispevali k razvoju dobre samopodobe odraslih z izkušnjo posvojitve, in vidikov RDT, ki so v pomoč pri izboljšanju samopodobe ter sposobnosti za intimo in regulacijo čutenj odraslih z izkušnjo posvojitve. Podatke smo zbrali s polstrukturiranimi intervjuji, ki smo jih opravili z 11 udeleženci terapevtske skupine in dvema odraslima, ki sta bila posvojena, a nista bila vključena v terapevtsko skupino. Ugotovili smo, da se oblikovanje dobre samopodobe povezuje z varno navezanostjo, vzgojo, tipom posvojitve, poznavanjem biološkega izvora, samopodobo v otroštvu in adelescenci, dobrimi medosebnimi odnosi in lastno odgovornostjo za samopodobo v odraslosti. Med vidiki RDT, ki so pomagali pri izboljšanju samopodobe ter sposobnosti za intimo in regulacijo čutenj, pa so udeleženci terapevtske skupine navedli empatičen odnos do klienta, naslavljanje afektov in regulacija, zrcaljenje klientovih sposobnosti in močnih točk, psihoedukacija, terapevtove osebnostne lastnosti in njegovo strokovno usposobljenost ter skupinsko dinamiko. Na podlagi refleksij, ki so jih pisali udeleženci skupinske terapije, smo zapisali utemeljeno teorijo (ang. grounded theory) o nekaterih vidikih doživljanja oseb z izkušnjo posvojitve, in sicer o odnosu do sebe, bioloških in staršev, ki so jih posvojili, o njihovih prijateljskih in partnerskih odnosih ter njihovem odnosu do starševstva. Posebno poglavje smo namenili opisu terapije po srečanjih in kontratransferne dinamike v skupinski terapiji z odraslimi z izkušnjo posvojitve. Med omejitvami naše raziskave kaže omeniti zaradi težko dostopne populacije majhen in zato manj reprezentativen numerus udeležencev z izkušnjo posvojitve, pomanjkljive podatke o okoliščinah posvojitve udeležencev kontrolne skupine, pomanjkljive podatke o vzorcih komunikacije v družini, v katero so bili udeleženci posvojeni, ter pretežno ženski vzorec populacije. Disertacija je pomemben doprinos k boljšemu poznavanju dolgoročnih posledic posvojitve in tako k razširitvi védenja strok, ki se ukvarjajo s tem področjem, ter znanja in učinkovitosti terapevta RDT pri delu s klienti z izkušnjo posvojitve.

Keywords

posvojitev;samopodoba;strah pred intimo;regulacija čutenj;relacijska travma;relacijska družinska terapija;

Data

Language: Slovenian
Year of publishing:
Typology: 2.08 - Doctoral Dissertation
Organization: UL TEOF - Theological Faculty
Publisher: [N. Vrbnjak]
UDC: 159.964:316.356.2:347.633(043.3)
COBISS: 199284995 Link will open in a new window
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Downloads: 28
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Other data

Secondary language: English
Secondary title: Self-esteem and abilities for intimacy and emotion regulation in adopted adults from the perspective of relational family therapy
Secondary abstract: Adoption is a social welfare measure of the state to protect children whose parents have died or are unable or unwilling to care for them. It turned out to be the most suitable solution, as it solves the plight of all three parties in the so-called adoptive triad: abandoned children, their biological parents, and couples who cannot have biological children. However, due to many circumstances, genetic and various pre- and post-adoption ones, which affect the psychological development of the child, it opens many questions to which the international research community still looks for credible answers. Because international research on the psychological development of people who have experienced adoption compared to those who grew up in a biological family, shows conflicting results, and because those studying adults who have experienced adoption are few in number, less is known about the long-term consequences of this intervention. In this doctoral dissertation, we, therefore, wanted to verify, on this population and in our cultural environment, whether their self-image differs from the self-image of people who grew up in the biological family, and to determine whether their ability for intimacy and affect regulation differs from the ability for intimacy and affect regulation in adults who grew up in their biological family. In addition, we wanted to find out what helped adults with the experience of adoption who managed to develop a good self-image to do so, or which factors contributed to this. We also wanted to check whether Relational Family Therapy, as a new, innovative method, is effective in improving the self-image and the ability to have close relationships and regulate the feelings of adults with the experience of adoption and which aspects of it are helpful in this. The doctoral dissertation with the title “Self-Esteem and Abilities for Intimacy and Emotion Regulation in Adopted Adults from the Perspective of Relational Family Therapy” is divided into a quantitative and a qualitative part. In the theoretical part, we focused on shedding light on phenomena such as adoption, self-image, identity and self-esteem, intimacy and fear of it, affect regulation, and abandonment as relational trauma, and presented the basics of Relational Family Therapy (RFT). We devoted the last chapter to the biblical-theological aspect, in which we presented some parts that relate to the attitude toward orphans. The empirical part includes a quantitative and a qualitative part. In the quantitative part, we determined the differences between the self-image and the ability for intimacy and affect regulation in persons with the experience of adoption and those who grew up in the biological family, as well as the differences in the self-image and the ability for intimacy and affect regulation in individuals with the experience of adoption who were included in group therapy according to the RFT model, and individuals with adoption experience who were not involved in group therapy according to the RFT model. We tested the hypotheses on a population of adults who were adopted (24 participants) and adults who grew up in a biological family (64 participants) with questionnaires on self-image (RSES and SERS), fear of intimacy (FIS), and emotional processing (EPS). The results showed that adults with the experience of adoption do not statistically significantly differ from adults who grew up in a biological family in terms of self-image, fear of intimacy, and affect regulation, although we measured better results on average for the former on most scales. The results also showed that between the group that attended group therapy according to the RFT model and the group that did not participate in the therapy, there were no statistically significant differences in self-image, fear of intimacy and affect regulation after the therapy, even though in the group who attended therapy we measured better results on all observed variables. In the qualitative part, we focused on the identification of factors that contributed to the development of a good self-image in adults with the experience of adoption, and aspects of RFT that help improve self-image and the ability of intimacy and affect regulation in adults with the experience of adoption. We collected data through semi-structured interviews conducted with 11 participants in the therapy group and two adults who were adopted but were not included in the therapy group. We found that the formation of a good self-image is correlated with secure attachment, upbringing, type of adoption, knowledge of one’s biological origin, self-image in childhood and adolescence, good interpersonal relationships, and one’s own responsibility for self-image in adulthood. Among the aspects of RFT that helped to improve self-image and the ability to be intimate and regulate affects, the participants of the therapy group indicated an empathetic attitude towards the client, addressing and regulating affects, mirroring the client’s abilities and strengths, psychoeducation, the therapist’s personality traits and her professional competence, and group dynamics. Based on the reflections written by the group therapy participants, we wrote a grounded theory about some aspects of the experiences of people who had been adopted, specifically about their attitude towards themselves, their biological and adoptive parents, their friendships and intimate couple relationships, and their attitude to parenthood. We dedicated a special chapter to the description of therapy after the meetings and countertransference dynamics in group therapy with adults who have experienced adoption. Among the limitations of our research which are due to the hard-to-reach population, we should mention a small and therefore less representative number of participants with the experience of adoption, insufficient data on the circumstances of the adoption of the participants in the control group, insufficient data on the patterns of communication in the family into which the participants were adopted, and a predominantly female sample of the population. The dissertation is an important contribution to a better understanding of the long-term consequences of adoption and thus to the expansion of the knowledge of professionals working in this field, as well as the knowledge and thus the effectiveness of the RFT therapists working with clients who have experienced adoption.
Secondary keywords: adoption;self-image;fear of intimacy;affect regulation;relational trauma;relational family therapy;
Type (COBISS): Doctoral dissertation
Study programme: 0
Thesis comment: Univ. v Ljubljani, Teološka fak.
Pages: X, 319, XVII str.
ID: 24230261