The Evolving Nature and Process of Foster Family Communication: An Application and Adaptation of the Family Adoption Communication Model

Abstract

In the current article I call for a better understanding of the process and evolution of foster family communication across the life span. First, I expose the communicative complexities of foster families. Second, I illuminate the importance of communication openness and birth family contact in both adoptive and foster family contexts. Third, through an application of the family adoption communication (FAC) model, I propose a framework for understanding how the process of foster family communication may evolve (i.e., foster family communication model). Last, I set forth directions for future research on foster family communication.

Talking about the Birth Family since the Beginning: The Communicative Openness in the New Adoptive Family

“…These aspects confirm that it is important to openly communicate about adoptionrelated issues from the beginning, especially considering that open communication is a dynamic process that follows the development of the child and the bonds created within the family [1,31]. The continued change in the communicative process needs to be taken into account when openness in adoption is studied and in clinical work with adoptive families.…”

“…The role of adoptive parents is then negotiating and mediating the adopted child's contact with the birth family if there is contact between the birth family and the adoptee, or supporting the adoptee in giving meaning to his/her loss and separation from the birth family [29]. Adopted children or adolescents who perceive their adoptive parents as being supportive and emotionally close to them [30] tend to be satisfied with the contact they have with their birth family, or understand more aspects about their adoption and their relationships with their birth family [31].…”

A Retrospective Study on Adoptive Parenthood in the First Year after the Adoption: The Role of Parents’ Attachment and Empathy on Communicative Openness

“…Alongside that, an open dialogue in the adoptive family is essential in supporting the child's development of an adoptive identity that integrates the adoptee's past and present experiences and adoptive status [5,6]. Effective communication can help the child understand and make sense of their adoptive experience and foster the affective bond between adoptive parents and the child [9][10][11]. Therefore, research emphasized the importance of encouraging open communication between family members from the initial moments of the child's life within the adoptive family [1,12].…”

Fostering "family" : how communication sustains and functions in foster families

“…Communication openness research on adoptive families provides insight into foster parent-child interactions and can rightfully be applied to the foster family form given the similarly complex web of relationships. Although "Foster Communicative Openness" or "FCO" has yet to be established as a construct, considerable parallels between adoptive and foster family functioning provide a mechanism through which interactions can be better understood (Nelson, 2014). The intrapersonal level of FCO would reflect an individual's (e.g.…”

“…Relative to adoptive communication but arguably applicable in the foster family context, Wrobel and colleagues developed the Family Adoption Communication Model (e.g. FAC-M, Wrobel et al, 2003;Nelson, 2014). The central premise behind the FAC-M is that as a child develops, so too does his/her capacity for understanding and discussing his/her adoption and adoption-related emotions and feelings.…”