Reunions between Adoptees and Birth Parents: The Adoptive Parents' View

Silverman, Phyllis R.; Campbell, Lee; Patti, Patricia

doi:10.1093/sw/39.5.542

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The current review focuses on adoptees' contact experience and does not take birth parents' (Gediman & Brown, 1991;Silverman, Campbell, Patti & Style, 1988) and adoptive parents' (Silverman, Campbell & Patti, 1994) perspectives into account. Describing the contact experience of birth parents and adoptive parents involves the analysis of experiential dimensions that are somewhat different from those of adopted persons, and constitutes a separate line of research.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adopted Persons' Search for and Contact with Their Birth Parents II

Müller¹,

Perry²

2001

Adoption Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents a review of empirical research on adult adoptees' contact with their birth parents. First, we will examine research concerning the stages and timing of search, the first meeting between adoptee and birth parent, the type of relationships that are established, and the factors that influence the adoptee-birth parent relationship. Next, we will summarize research that has examined how the contact affects adoptees. Finally, we will discuss research that has addressed the issue of how the contact affects the relationship between adoptees and adoptive parents. Implications of the empirical findings for adoption practice will be outlined.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adopted Persons' Search for and Contact with Their Birth Parents II

Müller¹,

Perry²

2001

Adoption Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is not surprising that adoptive parents often feel like the neglected party in the reunion process, with their feelings and needs left unacknowledged (Marburg, 1998;McColm, 1993). They express anxiety about losing their child and question whether their parent-child relationship will be compromised and can withstand the introduction of the birth parent (Brodzinsky, 1990;Mann, 1998Mann, , 2000Silverman, Campbell, Patti, & Style, 1994). In addition, adoptive parents express concern that their parenting will be judged and their worthiness reassessed.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Experience of Adoptive Parents in Adoption Reunion Relationships: A Qualitative Study.

Petta

Steed

2005

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The issues experienced by adoptive parents when faced with an adult child's searching or reunion relationship with his or her birth family, how adoptive parents place themselves within this process, and the factors that influence their experience at this time were explored in a qualitative study of 21 adoptive parents. Themes derived from semistructured interviews are discussed, and implications for clinical practice and future research are suggested.

show abstract

“…These women were living evidence that women cannot simply give birth to a child and walk away from the relationship. They were part of the beginning revolution in how adoption is treated in this country and the recognition of the attachment between newborn and birthparent Campbell, Silverman, and Path, 1991;Silverman, Campbell, and Patti, 1994). I began to look at the concept of transition for women who either were widowed, birthmothers, or who were battered (Silverman 1981a).…”

Section: Milestones and Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Makes a Difference

Silverman

2001

Illness, Crisis & Loss

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When I first began my work with the bereaved more than three decades ago, it was inconceivable to me that I would one day be asked how being a woman affected my work. At that time it seemed important to be gender neutral, to keep my personal thoughts and experiences separate from my work. Change has occurred not only in how I see myself and its effect on my work, but in the position women now have in society. Today's world is not the same world into which I was socialized as I was growing up or when I began my work with the widowed. I am now able to acknowledge publicly, what I, in many ways, always knew, that we cannot separate our thinking, our feelings, our reactions and the evolution of ideas, from the social context in which we live. I can now say, without any apologies, that the fact of my being a woman and also a wife and a mother has made a difference in how I approached my work, as well as in what I have done and still do as a researcher, teacher and clinician. In turn, my work has also made a difference in how I mothered my children, how I related to my husband, and what, together, we have learned about life and death (Silverman 2000a). I cannot always see how these experiences influenced my career and the work I have done. There is no simple cause and effect relationship. I cannot say that this caused that, for example, but I have no doubt that it is all related.This article is the second time I have written about how my personal and my professional lives are intertwined. The first time was when Shulamith Reinharz asked me to contribute a chapter to a book she was editing on Qualitative Gerontology (Reinharz and Rowles 1988). In that chapter, I wrote about how I applied the techniques of qualitative re- 111

show abstract

Reunions between Adoptees and Birth Parents: The Adoptive Parents' View

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Adopted Persons' Search for and Contact with Their Birth Parents II

Adopted Persons' Search for and Contact with Their Birth Parents II

The Experience of Adoptive Parents in Adoption Reunion Relationships: A Qualitative Study.

It Makes a Difference

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About