During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sweden was a major recipient of children adopted from abroad. Many of these children originate in countries in Asia and South America and have now grown up and are in their 50s. Over the years, there have been different opinions about how these children should or can fit into Swedish society and what consequences it can have for the children. I have in various contexts during my life come into contact with other visibly expatriates who experience a feeling of belonging but still not. That one is expected to be and feel Swedish but that society and people in the environment do not really allow it to happen. Over the years, several voices have also discussed mental illness, relationship vulnerability, a sense of exclusion and an experience that something "is broken". This is something that has affected me and that has led to my curiosity about exploring the area more deeply.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how transnationally adopted women perceive their self-image. Seven interviews have been conducted with visibly foreign adopted women born in India, Thailand, Colombia, and British Guiana. All respondents have come to Sweden before or at the age of two. The results have been analyzed using social psychological theory, symbolic interactionism, and theoretical thoughts by Goffman. The first research question was about what factors in the adopted family image can be used as a basis for the influence of the self-image. Family-related factors that have had an impact are both the family structure and composition themselves, but also events during childhood and childhood. The significant others have proven to be of great importance for the conditions given for building a safe and positive self-image. For some, early separation experiences have set a mark when later in life they have experienced separation anxiety and in some cases relationship vulnerability to others.

The second research question was to find out which factors in the adoptee’s interaction with society can be the basis for the influence of the self-image. The adoptee’s interaction with society has been shown to influence the self-image as the surroundings contribute to a tangible middle-class relationship. Not all respondents are affected by the prejudices and beliefs of the environment as they have different resistance to vulnerability, prejudice, and normative beliefs. However, most people feel that prejudice from the environment affects self-image and creates what Goffman describes as stigma. The mental health is affected by a combination of family and society, as the significant other has a major impact on how the child navigates the outside world. Mental health seems to be influenced by growing up conditions and opportunities to explore ones internal. Finally, it has been shown that the respondents' self-image is very much influenced by the environment's ability to "stamp" the respondents through boundless curiosity and questioning.