La construcción de la identidad en personas adoptadas a través de la búsqueda de orígenes: ¿necesidades y derechos?

María del Valle Medina Rodríguez; Aránzazu Gallego Molinero; Chandra Kala Clemente Martínez

doi:10.31637/epsir-2025-1071

Authors

María del Valle Medina Rodríguez University of Granada https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3972-9678
Aránzazu Gallego Molinero University of Granada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6929-5554
Chandra Kala Clemente Martínez Autonomous University of Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5643-9704

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31637/epsir-2025-1071

Keywords:

Transnational adoption, Search for Origins, Construction of Identity, Adopted People, Postadoption Services, Adoptive Families, Birth Families, Right to know the origins

Abstract

Introduction: The construction of personal identity involves various processes and factors. For adopted individuals, knowledge of their origins is fundamental. Methodology: The research aims to (1) understand the impact of the search for origins on identity construction, and (2) identify the difficulties encountered in this search. Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 15 adopted individuals. The results were analyzed based on three variables: the meaning of the search for origins, its impact on identity construction, and difficulties in the process. Results: There is no consensus on the importance of the search for origins in identity construction or the forms it may take; differences are evident regarding the difficulties encountered in this search. Discussions: The search for origins holds different meanings and plays various roles in identity construction. Conclusions: The search for origins is revealed as a complex process, requiring the development of material and institutional support for individuals and their adoptive families.

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Author Biographies

María del Valle Medina Rodríguez, University of Granada

PhD in Social Work and Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Granada. Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Work and Social Services of the University of Granada. Participant in the Open Researchers Research Project during the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Member of the Research Group: Africaines: research and studies applied to development (SEJ 491). Researcher in the State R+D+i Research project “Reproductive governance and mobilities in Europe, North Africa and Latin America: questioning reproductive justice and rights in a context of austerity and fertility decline” (Autonomous University of Barcelona). Lines of research: juvenile justice, restorative justice, mediation, search for origins, children at risk, lack of protection and social conflict.

Aránzazu Gallego Molinero, University of Granada

PhD from the UNED, Diploma in Social Work from the University of Granada and Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Seville. Professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Services of the University of Granada. Member of the AFIN Research Group. Researcher in the State R+D+i Research Project “Reproductive governance and mobilities in Europe, North Africa and Latin America: questioning reproductive justice and rights in a context of austerity and fertility decline” (Autonomous University of Barcelona). Lines of research: Social Policies on Children and Youth. Adoption and transnational parenting. Parenting practices in plural and diverse forms of family configuration. Search for origins and contact with the birth family of the adopted or fostered child.

Chandra Kala Clemente Martínez, Autonomous University of Barcelona

D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Member of the AFIN Research Group. Researcher in the R+D+i State Research Project “Reproductive governance and mobilities in Europe, North Africa and Latin America: questioning reproductive justice and rights in a context of austerity and fertility decline” (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). Lines of research: children's rights, transnational adoption, search for origins, family studies, migration.

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