Welcome to the Adoptive Parent Survey at Tufts University. You are invited to participate in this survey if you are at least 18 years of age and have adopted a child internationally in or after 1983. If you have adopted a child from another country prior to 1983, thank you for your interest in this study, but we will not be recording your responses. Please note that the survey is in English and requires fluency in English.
Purpose
This survey has been developed in collaboration with the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. During the past 10-15 years, intercountry adoption has been undergoing dramatic changes. Individual countries have made changes in their policies and procedures. Many countries have become members of the Hague Adoption Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention), an international legal agreement designed to protect children’s rights regarding adoption. More recently, intercounty adoption rates have dropped dramatically. (Note: the green link will open the Hague Convention document in a new window.)
To better understand the impact of these changes, this survey has been designed to gather information about the opinions and experiences of adoptive parents who have adopted a child or are adopting a child from another country. More specifically, we are interested in learning about the similarities and differences in parents’ experiences adopting from Hague-Convention-member countries and non-Hague-Convention-member countries as a way of understanding the impact of the Hague Convention.
Procedure
The survey involves answering some general demographic questions and some questions about your experience with international adoption. The survey takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Your participation is completely voluntary, and your responses will be completely anonymous. You do not have to answer any question you would rather not answer. There are no consequences if you decide not to complete the survey and you can stop at any time.
Risks and Benefits
There are a few questions that might cause discomfort for some participants. You do not have to answer any question that you would rather not answer. As noted below, this study will be used to inform a paper on the impact of the Hague Convention on adoption practices and policies. We hope that the recommendations that we make in the paper will further improve adoption practices and policies in intercountry adoption for children in need of permanency and for families seeking to adopt. In addition, sometimes parents find it helpful to reflect on their experiences.
Anonymity and Confidentiality
The results of this study will be used to inform a paper on the Hague Convention and its impact on Intercountry Adoption. We do not ask for any information that can identify you, thus no one will know that you have participated in this study. All data obtained from participants will be kept confidential and will only be reported aggregate format (i.e., by reporting combined results) or by reporting comments that will not identify any person or country. No one other than the primary investigator and the research team will have access to the individual survey responses. The data will be gathered using the HIPPA-compliant, Qualtrics-secure website and downloaded weekly to a password-protected file on a secure server at Tufts. The data will be kept for three years after the completion of the study, the minimum required by law.
If you have any questions or comments about the study or your rights as a participant, you are free to contact the Primary Investigator, Professor Ellen Pinderhughes at any time. She can be reached at:
Tufts University,
105 College Ave,
Medford, MA, 02155
Ellen Pinderhughes, PhD
Ellen.Pinderhughes@tufts.edu
617-627-4560
This research has been reviewed according to Tufts University IRB procedures for research involving human subjects. If you any questions about your rights as a participant, you may contact the director of the Tufts University IRB:
sber@tufts.edu
Office of the Vice Provost
Tufts University
20 Professors Row
Medford, MA, 02155
Phone: (617) 627-3417
ELECTRONIC CONSENT: Please select your choice below.
Clicking on the “agree” button below indicates that:
· You have read the above information
· You have voluntarily agreed to participate
· You are at least 18 years of age
If you do not wish to participate in the research study, please decline participation by clicking on the “disagree” button.