被收養人身世告知經驗初探

A Study on the Disclosure Experience of Adoptees

身世告知是收養工作的重要議題，收出養媒合機構會教育收養父母如何告知身世。雖然如此，還是有許多收養父母擔心告知後會影響親子關係。至於被收養人希望如何被告知，在主觀經驗中是否覺得親子關係受到影響，是本研究的核心主題。本研究的目的是了解被收養人的身世告知經驗，以探究被收養人知悉身世過程的主觀感受、揭露身世後親子關係的變化，以及被收養身分所衍伸的自我認同主題。以質性研究為方法，訪談六位已成年被收養人，研究發現身世告知是一個歷程，不是一個單一事件，被收養人多期待及早與主動告知、與瞭解出養及收養原因；身世告知不必然會影響親子關係，童年與養父母相處的正向經驗才是關係維繫的關鍵。研究建議及早告知，被收養人有機會在告知歷程中消化經驗，以及尋找自我認同。

Disclosing family origins to adoptees is an important topic in the adoption process. Adoption agencies usually educate adoptive parents on how to disclose to adoptees, but many adoptive parents worry that the disclosure will affect the parent–child relationship. Thus, how adoptees would like to receive the disclosure and whether they subjectively feel that the parent–child relationship is affected are both topics worthy of further discussion. This research takes a qualitative approach and connects with adoption agencies to interview six adoptees who are now adults. The purpose of the interviews is to learn about their experience receiving disclosures and their subjective feelings after learning of their family origins. The aim is to reveal the changes disclosure brought to the parent–child relationship and whether common concerns are raised due to the adoptive status. We also want to know about factors that affect their identification with their adopted status so that we can consequently give advice to other adoptive families. Our study finds that adoptees see disclosure as a process rather than an isolated event. The majority want to be told their family origin as early and proactively as possible and expect to learn the reasons they were given up for adoption and taken in as adoptees. The disclosure does not necessarily influence the parent–child relationship, and adoptees care more about the positive experiences they had with adoptive parents in their childhood. Moreover, adopted children seek contact with their original family mostly to understand why they were given up for adoption. The effects of disclosure depend on how the adoptive parents or other significant people in the lives of adoptees interpret the identity of the adoptees. That is, their response and attitude toward the identity have a lasting impact on the adoptees. The study suggests that early disclosure gives adoptees a chance to internalize the experience in the process and find self-identification.