Identity as a situated, relational, and open narrative: a case study of international adoption and institutionalization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69940/ruc.20261202Keywords:
dialogical research, identity, institutionalization, international adoption, search for originsAbstract
This article draws on the findings of the undergraduate thesis The Narrative Construction of the Identity of an Internationally Adopted Person (Mujica, 2023), broadening its interpretive scope with the aim of understanding how the participant's identity narrative is shaped through the interaction between his experience as an internationally adopted person, his experiences of institutionalization during childhood and adolescence, and the multiple voices and relational contexts present throughout his life. In-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed using an adapted version of Dialogical Narrative Analysis. The findings show that international adoption constitutes a central dimension of the participant's life story. However, adoption does not fully encompass his identity narrative. Experiences of institutionalization during childhood and adolescence created contexts in which strength, survival, and adaptation to institutional rules came to occupy a significant place in the way he narrates himself. Likewise, the voices of family members, institutions, professionals, peers, and the participant himself emerge as elements that stabilize, challenge, or transform different versions of the self. The article concludes that identity is configured as a situated, relational, and open narrative, shaped by relationships, institutions, and the possibility of narrating oneself anew. This perspective provides an ethical and political basis for reflecting on the impact of care, adoption, institutionalization, and support practices on the lives of children and adolescents separated from their families.
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