Adoptees’ Contact With Birth Relatives in Emerging Adulthood

Farr, Rachel H.; Grant-Marsney, Holly A.; Musante, Danila S.; Grotevant, Harold D.; Wrobel, Gretchen Miller

doi:10.1177/0743558413487588

Cited by 22 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Satisfaction was not contingent on having current contact, nor did it differ by parental sexual orientation, which is also consistent with the findings of other studies (Brodzinsky & Goldberg, ; Farr & Goldberg, ). Previous research has suggested that adoptive families with contact report greater satisfaction (Farr & Goldberg, ; Farr, Grant‐Marsney, Musante, Grotevant, & Wrobel, ), but we did not find this pattern. This discrepancy could be explained by variations in contact and feelings about it over time, as predicted by the emotional distance regulation framework (Grotevant, ).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Birth Family Contact Experiences Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents With School‐Age Children

2017

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Objective To examine how lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents navigate openness dynamics with children's birth family across a 5‐year period, when children are preschool‐ to school‐age. Background Few studies regarding birth family contact have included longitudinal data as well as a sample of adoptive parents of varying sexual orientations. Thus, this study used a multiprong theoretical approach grounded in emotional distance regulation, families of choice, and gender theory. Method A mixed‐methods approach with longitudinal quantitative survey and qualitative interview data from 106 lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parent families was employed to examine the type of contact, its frequency, who was involved, perceptions of this contact, and the extent to which formal agreements exist between adoptive and birth families regarding contact. Results Findings revealed variations in the status and perceptions of contact across adoptive families. We also discovered that many lesbian and gay adoptive parents reported that birth parents had intentionally selected a same‐sex adoptive couple, and birth parents appeared to have distinct reasons for this choice. Conclusion Although some differences in birth family contact distinguished lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parent families, these families generally appeared more similar than different. Implications Implications—particularly a need for demonstrated competencies in adoption openness—are discussed for adoption professionals in policy, practice, and legal realms.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Birth Family Contact Experiences Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents With School‐Age Children

2017

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“…Attachment and communication with adoptive mothers and fathers were considered separately as predictors in each regression. Adoptees' age and sex were also included as predictors, as each has been found to be relevant to variables of birth family contact in previous studies (e.g., Farr et al., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(In other words, most adoptees did not have contact with birth families in emerging adulthood, but a substantial minority did.) Adoptees also were relatively satisfied with contact with birth parents during emerging adulthood, but those with greater openness reported greater satisfaction with contact with birth mothers and birth fathers (Farr et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At age 18, many adoptees gain the legal right to their adoption records and/or birth family contact (specific rights granted vary by state) (Howard, Smith, & Deoudes, ). Changes in legal status may offer new opportunities for contact among some adoptees, changes in an established pattern for others, and still for some, no changes in openness arrangements (Farr et al., ). Transitions among family and personal relationships during emerging adulthood also likely influence adoptees' experiences with birth family contact, but no research to our knowledge has directly addressed this issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adoptees' Contact with Birth Parents in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Adoption Communication and Attachment to Adoptive Parents

2014

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As adoptees transition to adulthood, their roles in the family may shift, providing them with opportunities to have increasing autonomy in their decisions about contact and initiating conversations about adoption. Research has often focused more on adoptees as children, yet in emerging adulthood, there are important shifts in the life roles and relationships of adoptees during which adoptive parents continue to be meaningful. This study examined associations among attachment and communication within the adoptive family during adulthood with emerging adult adoptees' experience of birth family contact (frequency of and satisfaction with birth family contact), in a sample of 167 emerging adults with varied contact with birth family (from no contact to frequent contact). Results suggest that perceptions of secure parent-child attachment relationships, as well as sensitive and open communication with adoptive parents about adoption, continue to be important for emerging adult adoptees and lead to greater satisfaction for adoptees with birth parent contact-regardless of whether adoptees actually have birth family contact. In particular, positive family communication about adoption during adulthood was predictive of satisfaction with birth parent contact. Limitations and implications are discussed.

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“…These internal barriers contribute to the psychological work of assessing one’s intensity of curiosity and desire to seek out information. Emerging adults possess the desire to engage relationships in the adoptive kinship network in new adult ways (Farr et al, in press), facilitating information seeking. When a path for negotiating relationships in the adoptive kinship network as an adult is identified, curiosity and subsequent information seeking increase because barriers are viewed as surmountable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoptees’ curiosity and information-seeking about birth parents in emerging adulthood

Wrobel

Grotevant

Samek

et al. 2013

International Journal of Behavioral Development

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The Adoption Communication Pathway(ACP) model was used to test the potential mediating effect of curiosity on adoption information seeking in a sample of 143 emerging adult adoptees (mean age = 25.0 years) who were adopted as infants within the United States by parents of the same race. Adoptees were interviewed about their intentions and actions taken to gather new information about their birth mothers and fathers. As expected, level of curiosity was positively associated with information seeking behavior. Moreover, level of curiosity was influenced by adoptees’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators toward information-dseeking. In fact, curiosity partially mediated the impact of internal and external barriers on information seeking about birth mothers. Curiosity fully mediated the impact of external barriers and partially mediated external facilitators on birth father information seeking. This study provides important support for the ACP, which describes context, motivation, and behavior relating to seeking new adoption-related information.

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Adoptees’ Contact With Birth Relatives in Emerging Adulthood

Cited by 22 publications

References 20 publications

Birth Family Contact Experiences Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents With School‐Age Children

Birth Family Contact Experiences Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents With School‐Age Children

Adoptees' Contact with Birth Parents in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Adoption Communication and Attachment to Adoptive Parents

Adoptees’ curiosity and information-seeking about birth parents in emerging adulthood

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