Transnational Adoptees and Migrants: From Peru to Spain

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Dr. Jessaca B. Leinaweaver (Brown University) will undertake research on the relationship between international adoption and international migration, in situations where the populations involved in these movements share common origins and common destinations. Immigration typically has been studied by social scientists as a national or international phenomenon, while international adoption has been studied at the level of the individual or family. By bringing the two kinds of population movement into comparison with each other, Leinaweaver will be able to elucidate common and differentiating factors in the countries of origin and destination; how the two may interact, particularly with regard to integration into the receiving country; and how the identities and experiences of young immigrants are affected by being either adopted or part of labor-migrant families.The research will be conducted in Spain and Peru, focusing on Peruvian children adopted to Spain and Peruvian youth who are part of families who immigrated to Spain for work. Data will be collected through a variety of ethnographic fieldwork methods including participant-observation, semi-structured focus group interviews, and semi-structured interviews with individuals and families. A graduate student employed by the project will also analyze print and electronic media from Spain and Peru to gather further evidence of how the diverse Peruvian presences in Spain are popularly mediated and understood. Findings from this research will contribute to social science theory of contemporary international population movements. The research also will be useful to government officials, non-governmental workers, and development agencies charged with developing and implementing migration and adoption policies.