The unique experiences of Maori adoptive mothers in the 'closed stranger' adoption system : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa/New Zealand

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dc.contributor.authorPerkins, Valerie Maruru
dc.date.accessioned2010-06-14T03:41:21Z
dc.date.availableNO_RESTRICTIONen_US
dc.date.available2010-06-14T03:41:21Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description.abstract'Closed stranger' adoption in Aotearoa / New Zealand from approximately 1940 to 1990 involved the practice of a complete break between the birth mother and her child and the legal transfer of the child to adoptive parents. In Aotearoa / New Zealand between 1940 and 1990, 108,899 adoptions took place, and most consisted of ‘closed stranger’ adoptions. These adoptions have caused much joy as well as some heartache for parties involved in the experience namely, birth mothers, adoptees and adoptive mothers and their whānau. This thesis reports original research which aims to investigate the unique experiences of Māori adoptive mothers in the 'closed stranger' adoption period and enable the impact of legal adoption on these Māori women who have not previously warranted research, to be valued. A qualitative methodology, Māori-centred research and unstructured kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) interviews were utilized to gather data from six Māori adoptive mothers. The intention of Māori centred research as its name suggests, is to locate Māori people and Māori knowledge at the centre of the research action. A thematic analysis utilizing interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used. The unique experiences of Māori women legally adopting in the ‘closed stranger’ adoption system were about whānau business, and grouped under that superordinate theme were experiences of ‘not blood’, land succession, naming and caring for whānau. The stigma of adoption resonated throughout the women’s narratives. As well, most of these Māori adoptive mothers found that they experienced ‘closed stranger’ adoption as a ‘rollercoaster of emotions’.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/1372
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectMaori adoptive mothersen_US
dc.subjectClosed stranger adoptionen_US
dc.subjectMaori womenen_US
dc.subjectNew Zealanden_US
dc.subjectMaori land successionen_US
dc.subjectWhangaien_US
dc.subjectStigmaen_US
dc.subjectAdoption
dc.subject.otherFields of Research::380000 Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences::380100 Psychology::380105 Social and community psychologyen_US
dc.titleThe unique experiences of Maori adoptive mothers in the 'closed stranger' adoption system : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa/New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorPerkins, Valerie Maruru
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (M.A.)en_US
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