Adoptee Survey

Dear Fellow Adoptee:

The following survey was developed by Janet Pushkal, who is a doctoral student at Florida State University. As an adoptee, she understands how important it is to explore the experience of adoption. This study is designed to examine the effects of adoption in adults.

This study is being conducted under the supervision of Dr. Neil Abell, MSW, PhD. It is intended to study the long-term attachment effects of adoption. Some general demographic questions are asked to help better understand these issues. The scale also asks briefly about your attachment style.

Your participation is voluntary and anonymous. All information obtained during the course of the study will remain confidential, to the extent allowed by law. Any information, once received, will be kept anonymously at the school of social work in a locked cabinet.

Although we do not anticipate that the questions will cause you any unreasonable distress, should you feel upset by the contents, you are encouraged to call your local community mental health clinic. You may, of course, stop participating in the survey at any time. Adoptees interested in information about searching can contact the Adoption Search National Hotline at (407) 768-2222. Triad also offers referral information for adoptees and can be contacted at 407-843-2760.

Any questions you have concerning the research study or your participation in it, before or after your consent, will be answered by either the researcher Janet Pushkal, who can be reached at jpmeridian@yahoo.com (c/o FSU 2411 University Center C) or Dr. Neil Abell who can be reached at nabell@mailer.fsu.edu (c/o FSU 3409 University Center C). If you have questions about your rights as a subject/participant in this research, or if you feel that you have been placed at risk, you can contact the Chair of the Human Subjects Committee, Institutional Review Board, through the Office of the Vice President for Research, at (850) 644-8633.

If you are over the age of 18, we invite you to participate in this study.

Please answer the following questions

Gender

Female

Male

Age at adoption

What is your race/ethnicity (please check all that apply):

What is the race/ethnicity of your adopted mother? (please check ALL that apply)

What is the race/ethnicity of your adopted father? (please check ALL that apply)

Were you abused prior to the age of 18 (i.e., physical, emotional or sexual).:

yes

no

If you answered yes to the preceeding question, was the abuse by (please check all that apply):

An family member (i.e. mother or father)

An extended family member (i.e. cousin, aunt, or uncle)

Someone outside the family

What is your total household income?

What is the highest level of education that you have completed?

Please respond to each of the following statements by expressing how much you agree or disagree with it. Please answer each question based on how you feel as an adult adoptee. Please be as accurate as you can be throughout. There are no right or wrong answers, you are simply to express your own personal feelings and opinions.

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Disagree Somewhat	Neutral	Somewhat Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
1. Because I am adopted, I have always believed that there are no limits to what I might achieve.
2. Most people think that I am a competent and independent person.
3. My family thinks of me as capable of handling even difficult situations.
4. Being adopted is one of the best things that happened to me.
5. Being adopted made me learn to trust lots of different people.
6. I believe that a higher power brought me to my adoptive parents.
7. I believe that people are essentially good
8. Because I am an adult adoptee, I've learned to feel comfortable asking for and receiving help.
9. I think it’s important to be able to count on others.
10. I enjoy having close personal relationships.
11. I enjoy having lots of people in my life, from good, close friends to casual contact.
12. People seek me out because I am happy and secure.
13. I feel emotionally secure.
14. I try hard to get people to like me.
15. Because of the adoption, I find that I am always looking for approval from others.
16. If I could figure out a way to fit in better, my life would be much happier.
17. I spend a lot of time trying to take care of others, so I will be accepted.
18. I learned that in order to get attention, I have to put my own needs last.
19. My adoption taught me that I was not as important as other people.
20. I find that I compromise too much in order to get people to like me.

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Disagree Somewhat	Neutral	Agree Somewhat	Agree	Strongly Agree
21. I would ask for help more often, but I feel like my problems aren’t very important.
22. I would like a lot of friends, but I feel like I don’t have enough to offer.
23. I would like to have closer relationships in my life, but it is hard for me to believe people will like me for who I am.
24. If I hadn’t been adopted, I might feel more secure about who I am.
25. I wish that I had more to offer the world.
26. People avoid me because I am too needy.
27. I think that deep down, all adult adoptees feel insecure.
28. I think all adoptees feel damaged.
29. I think that if I could get more people to like me, I’d be happier.
30. I find that I am so worried about rejection I avoid intimate relationships.

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Disagree Somewhat	Neutral	Agree Somewhat	Agree	Strongly Agree
31. Being an adoptee has made me more vulnerable, so I protect myself.
32. I have learned that it is best to be cautious around others.
33. I have learned that it is best not to let people know the “real me.”
34. I am not sure that relationships are worth it because there is too much pain involved.
35. Because of the adoption, I have a lot of fears about abandonment.
36. As an adult adoptee, I am more likely to get anxious when people get close.
37. I’m always worried that people will discover that I’m not the person that they think I am.
38. I wish that I saw people as less rejecting.
39. I think that most adoptees avoid relationships because they have been hurt enough.
40. I think that most adoptees are afraid of intimacy.
41. In my personal relationships, I am careful not too disclose too much because I don’t want to get hurt.
42. Being adopted makes you realize that anyone can leave you.

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Disagree Somewhat	Neutral	Agree Somewhat	Agree	Strongly Agree
43. I really don’t need close relationships. I depend on myself.
44. I have found that it’s best to work through your own problems.
45. The only way to become stronger is to rely on yourself.
46. I don’t need close relationships. I prefer being independent.
47. As an adult adoptee, I have learned that the best way to get through life is to take care of yourself first.
48. I don’t know why other people get so caught up in personal relationships. It’s best to depend on yourself.
49. I think that most adoptees have learned that relationships aren’t that important.
50. I don’t get caught up in other people’s crises. They have to learn to take care of themselves.
51. The adoption doesn’t affect me at all. Things like that happen all of the time.

Relationship style questionnaire

	Not like me	A little like me	Sometimes like me	Frequently like me	Very much like me
1. It is easy for me to become emotionally close to others.
2. I am comfortable depending on others and having others depend on me.
3. I don’t worry about being alone or having others not accept me.
4. I am comfortable without close relationships.
5. It is very important to me to feel independent and self-sufficient.
6. I prefer not to depend on others or have others depend on me.
7. I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others.
8. I often find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like.
9. I am uncomfortable being without close relationships.
10. I sometimes worry that others don’t value me as much as I value them.
11. I am uncomfortable getting close to others.
12. I want emotionally close relationships.
13. I find it difficult to trust others completely or to depend on them.
14. I sometimes worry that I will be hurt if I allow myself to become too close to others.


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