Mapping the Life Course of Adoption Project (MAP):

Health, Well-Being, & Adoptee Connections in Adulthood

Brief Summary of the Project

This project "Mapping the Life Course of Adoption Project (MAP)” is a national adoptee-led and community-engaged study aimed at mapping the life course of adoption in adulthood and the role of adoptee-led groups/connections as a resource for thriving adulthoods.

Guiding Principles

This project is guided by the belief that those who are adopted are experts in their lived experiences and that these experiences should be guiding adoption practices and policies.

This is an adoptee-led project, meaning it is being led by an adoptee scholar, Dr. Hollee McGinnis (hamcginnis@vcu.edu), in collaboration with other adoptee researchers (Drs. Amanda Baden, JaeRan Kim, Adam Kim, and Gina Samuels) and adoptee groups, including Boston Korean Adoptees (BKA), International Korean Adoptee Association Network (IKAA) and IKAA network organizations Asian Adult Adoptees of Washington (AAAW), Association of Korean Adoptees San Francisco (AKASF), Korean Adoptees of Chicago (KAtCH), Also-Known-As, Inc. (New York).

This is a community-engaged project, meaning participants are seen as co-creators of the knowledge, actively engaged in all aspects of the study development, interpretation, and use of the knowledge generated by the project. This means the project findings will be accessible to participants with the intention of building a practice of collaboration and co-creation of knowledge and wisdom by and for adoptees.  

To this end, we have created a permanent home for this project to stay connected and engaged in the project at the Collaborative on Adoption & Alternative Care Research (CAARE) website and social media channels at: https://caare-research.org 

Importance of the Project and Impact

It is our hope that findings from this study will help us begin to map out the experiences of adoption as adults and help us understand the nature of adoptee groups (formal and informal) as a potential resource for thriving adulthoods. Additionally, it is our hope that this study will launch a line of research inquiry that actively engages and co-creates knowledge with adoptee individuals and groups.

Study Aims

Study AIM 1 seeks to understand the physical, mental health, well-being, of adults (18+) who are adopted in the USA (domestic, international, or from foster care) and explore the relationship between participation in adoptee groups (or not) and outcomes. AIM 2 seeks to understand the nature of adult adoptee led self-help/mutual aid groups.