Adoptive parents' satisfaction with the adoption experience and with its impact on family life

In this study, we discuss the relevance of adoptive families' satisfaction in the assessment of adoption processes. The effects of adoption on a sample group of 272 adoptive families are analyzed. Most families show high levels of satisfaction as to: their decision to adopt, the features of their adopted children and how adoption has affected them as individuals and as a family. Statistical analyses show that these families can have different satisfaction levels depending on certain features of the adoptees, of the adoptive families or of their educational style. Life satisfaction of the adoptees is also related to how their adoptive parents evaluate the adoption.     

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

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.     

Adoption Counseling as a Professional Specialty Area for Counselors

Adoption is an area of professional specialization that has resided primarily with social workers. However, with some additional training, many counselors can acquire the expertise to provide service to members of the adoption triad: birthparents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. This article provides an overview of the major issues that may arise in the lives of triad members and suggests ways in which counselors can be equipped to respond to those issues.     

Birth Parents Who Relinquished Babies for Adoption Revisited

The fact that adoption records may be opened by court decree to enable adoptees to have access to identifying information about their birth parents makes it incumbent upon those concerned with adoption practices to study the impact of this on adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, and professional practice. This paper reports on research addressed to the attitudes and feelings of birth parents years after they relinquished babies for adoption.     

Adoptees do not lack self-esteem: a meta-analysis of studies on self-esteem of transracial, international, and domestic adoptees

Do adopted children show lower self-esteem than nonadopted peers, and do transracial adoptees show lower self-esteem than same-race adoptees? Adopted children are hypothesized to be at risk of low self-esteem. They may suffer from the consequences of neglect, abuse, and malnutrition in institutions before adoption. They have to cope with their adoptive status, which often includes difficulties associated with the lack of resemblance to their adoptive parents. Additionally, transracial and international adoptees may feel less integrated into their family, resulting in low self-esteem. In a series of metaanalyses, the authors found, however, no difference in self-esteem between adoptees (N = 10,977) and nonadopted comparisons (N = 33,862) across 88 studies. This was equally true for international, domestic, and transracial adoptees. Across 18 studies including 2,198 adoptees, no differences in self-esteem were found between transracial and same-race adoptees. In contrast, in a small set of 3 studies (N = 300), adoptees showed higher levels of self-esteem than nonadopted, institutionalized children. The authors' findings may be explained by adoptees' resilience to overcome early adversity, supported by the large investment of adoptive families. Adoption can be seen as an effective intervention, leading to normative self-esteem.     

“Just Beyond my Front Door”: Public Discourse Experiences of Children Adopted from China

The phenotypic differences between children and their adoptive parents in transracial adoptions make the child’s adoptive status readily apparent in public. Consequently, adoptees field more frequent questions and comments about the adoption. The present study examines the nature of public conversations about ethnicity and adoption of 41 elementary school age girls adopted from China and the ecological factors related to less frequent occurrences of such conversations and to the positive nature of these experiences. Results indicate that family structure (single parent vs. two parents) and parental bicultural competence predict membership in the favorable condition (reporting fewer public interaction experiences and reporting more positive experiences, respectively). Child’s age and racial diversity of the town of residence do not predict these outcomes. Implications for families, adoption professionals, teachers and researchers are discussed.     

Pre-adoptive risk factors and behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland

Behavioural problems in adoptees have been related to adverse circumstances prior to adoption. We examined pre-adoptive risk factors and post-adoptive behavioural problems in children adopted from Poland. Dutch adoptive parents of 133 Polish adoptees (M_age = 8.7 years, range 2.8–15.2; M_ageadoption = 3.0 years, range .4–6.9) answered the Child Behaviour Checklist and questions regarding pre-adoptive risk factors, such as institutionalization, neglect and abuse. Polish adoptees in our sample were four times more likely to have clinical behavioural problems than non-adopted children. Compared with a group of children adopted from various countries, predominantly from Asia, Polish adoptees had higher levels of behavioural problems as well. Multiple pre-adoptive risk factors were present. Only a history of abuse was found to be associated with behavioural problems after adoption. Special attention and support after adoption are needed for these children and their adoptive parents, especially when a pre-adoptive history of abuse is known.     

Does Lack of “Genetic-Relative Family Health History” Represent a Potentially Avoidable Health Disparity for Adoptees?

Many adoptees face a number of challenges relating to separation from biological parents during the adoption process, including issues concerning identity, intimacy, attachment, and trust, as well as (for older adopted children) language and other cultural challenges. One common health challenge faced by adoptees involves lack of access to genetic-relative family health history (GRFHx). Lack of GRFHx represents a disadvantage due to a reduced capacity to identify diseases and recommend appropriate screening for conditions for which the adopted person may be at increased risk. In this article, we draw out common features of traditionally understood “health disparities” in order to identify analogous features in the context of adoptees’ lack of GRFHx.     

Depth in Cultural Socialization in Families with Children Adopted from China

Parents raising children adopted from a different racial/ethnic group usually engage in cultural socialization—providing activities in adoptees’ birth culture—hoping to instill pride and help adoptees develop a positive identity. Adoptive parents engage in a wide variety of socialization activities, yet adult adoptees have reported not having deep enough exposure from their parents. The present study explored the depth of cultural socialization in transracial adoptive families. Informed by Pinderhughes' Ethnic‐Racial Socialization model, this study developed a continuum examining the depth in cultural socialization with three indicators: (1) the depth of cultural activities, (2) parents’ motivation for cultural socialization, and (3) parental cultural attitudes. Qualitative analyses of 41 White parents raising children adopted from China found that parents’ motivation and acknowledgement of cultural differences reflected deep appreciation of adoptees’ birth culture, however, activities they provided were not as deep. Activities that facilitated close relationships with people who shared adoptees’ background in a natural context appeared to provide the deepest cultural connection. Despite limitations, the study demonstrated that the depth continuum was able to capture variations and nuances in cultural socialization. Suggestions for future research and recommendation for practice were also included.     

Prebirth and postbirth influence on the relationship between creative ability and recorded mental illness1

Groups of 10 high, 20 above average, and 20 low creative ability subjects were constituted by interjudge agreement from among an adult population who were removed from their biological parents and adopted shortly after birth. The adoptees thus received prebirth influence from their biological relatives and postbirth influence from then: adoptive relatives The rates of recorded mental illness were determined among the adoptees, their biological parents and siblings, and their adoptive parents and siblings Mental illness rates in the adoptees were positively and significantly related to their creative ability level, substantiating the hypothesized relationship between creative ability and mental illness. The mental illness rates of the biological parents were positively and significantly related to the creative ability level of the adoptees. Mental illness rates among the adoptive parents and the adoptive and biological siblings were independent of the adoptees’ creative ability level. The data were interpreted as evidence for the influence of prebirth factors on the relationship between creative ability and mental illness No evidence of family-related postbirth influence was found An evaluation of mental illness rates among uncooperative (nonresponding) potential subjects and their relatives suggested that noncooperation by these adoptees produced a dampening effect on the results of the study.     

Reclaiming Culture: Reculturation of Transracial and International Adoptees

The cultural experiences of transracial and international adoptees (TRIAs) are uniquely affected by their adoption across cultures and racial/ethnic groups. Upon adoption, TRIAs typically identify quickly with their adoptive parents’ White culture but may eventually seek to reclaim their birth culture. Current terminology used to describe cultural identifications and changes (e.g., acculturation, enculturation) does not adequately depict the reclamation of birth culture by TRIAs. The authors describe a new term for this process called reculturation.     

Toward an Organizational-Relational Model of Open Adoption

Clinicians and social scientists have attempted to demonstrate the advisability of open versus closed adoption (communication and/or contact vs. no communication and/or contact between biological and adoptive parents) from a variety of theoretical perspectives. In our article, we seek a conceptual framework that will (a) elaborate how such divergent conclusions about openness versus confidentiality have heretofore been drawn, and (b) provide a comprehensive analysis of the behavior and experiences of all members of the adoption triad (birthparents, adoptive parents, adoptees). Employing structural aspects of organismic-developmental theory ( Werner, 1957 ) and dynamic aspects of self-in-relation theory ( Miller, 1976 ), we propose an organizational-relational approach to open adoption. Preliminary research findings are also provided.     

Adoption custody and family therapy

Abstract

A brief survey of the history and types of adoption serves as background for a study of the points at which adoption custody laws and family therapy interface. Potential areas for stress and interaction occur primarily in cases involving questions of rights—those of the adoptee, of the biological parents, and of the adoptive parents. New issues of concern include pressures to open sealed adoption records, questions of grandparents' rights, and the innovative practice of surrogate motherhood. There is also a comparison of adoption custody and divorce custody issues.     

Opening Comments

Child placement policies and practices are always based on ideas as to what kind of society we want to be. We want to keep a balance between the needs of the child and those of the parents—divorced, biological, foster, or adoptive. We seek new legal frameworks to allow for different kinds of placements with varying degrees of access, openness, and privacy. The goal is to find relationship arrangements that will do justice to all the individuals involved. The job of shaping and testing new arrangements, determining their limits, may take decades. We will learn who are the parents actually ready to raise a child in joint custody or to foster or adopt a child while maintaining access to the biological parents. We will learn what forms of access are likely to enhance or jeopardize the relationships and growth of the participants. We will discover patterns that encourage or discourage parents in undertaking new forms of placement and ways for professionals to relate to these families. We may find that the issue of the “compulsive” identity search is less critical than the difficulties involved in establishing intrafamilial boundaries and developing optimal conditions for raising children. The art of anticipating agency-induced “latrogenic errors” will become indispensable. It will be used for developing fair ground rules for those involved in the experience of child placement. This will improve an imperfect world by restoring two concepts—that the rights of the individual can be protected without neglecting the needs of others and that contractual arrangements and interpersonal commitments cannot only be revised but also honored. These concepts have rapidly weakened since Freud. On the basis of his theories the psychology of the family and the community shifted dramatically to that of the individual's internal plight. The culmination of that powerful trend was seen among mental health professionals who focused exclusively on the phenomenology of the foster child's or adoptee's identity search, fantasies, and anxieties, and only incidentally on the concerns of the adoptive, foster, and biological parents. The professionals were aware of the dynamic patterns of coalitions and splits set up between an agency's representative and the sets of parents involved, but for them these interactions were merely the background in a drama of intrapsychic forces struggling for resolution. The tendency has been to look inside people's heads and to consider the agency's involvement and the organizing power of the interpersonal arrangement as secondary influences in the making of problems. This tendency—by no means only a lamentable and myopic error of the past—may be yielding. Whether disguised as interactional theory, as family-oriented perceptions, or as awareness of context, consideration for the needs of others is coming back. More adoptees and foster children are concerned that their successful search may prove to be less than welcome to unconsenting biological parents. More professionals are concerned with preventing a particular outlook, whether it be the doctrinaire position of the courts or agencies thirty years ago or the self-actualizing drive of the adoptee or foster child today, from asserting itself at the expense of others. Practitioners look for a new ethic and for informed viewpoints to make wiser decisions when dealing with child placement. The following section offers three such viewpoints. The first paper favors the continuity of biological or previous family ties across a variety of child placement settings and views the identity search as more than an inner event, as a nonpathological social quest and an integrative experience. The second paper attributes the “compulsive” identity search to “psychological stress within the adoptive family” and “distortion in the vitally important area of adoptive education”; it stresses the importance of safeguarding the contractual foundations of adoption. The third paper emphasizes the need to develop empirical data on the impact on birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees of the movement to unseal adoption records; it describes a study of the attitudes of birth parents who relinquished children in the past. The strengths of each presentation are limited by the problems imposed by self-selected samples, but the papers afford the reader the opportunity of looking at the child-placement experience from different perspectives.     

Adoptive versus Mixed Families: Child Adjustment,Parenting Stress and Family Environment

Recent research in adoption has considered the factors and processes that underlie the adjustment of children and families. However, little research has been conducted on certain types of adoptive families, specifically on families with both adoptive and biological children often designated as mixed families. This subject is addressed by the present study which also analyzes the association between the type of adoptive family and children’s outcomes—prosocial and problem behavior—parenting stress and the relational family environment. It also examines whether children’s gender, age at adoption and the number of children in the home moderate these effects. 102 parents of adoptive children (ACF) 33 parents of both adoptive and biological children (ABCF) and 102 parents of biological children (BCF) participated in the study. Target-children were aged from 6 to 12 years. The Portuguese versions of the SDQ-P, PSI-SF and FES (Interpersonal Relationship dimension) were used. Results showed that the type of adoptive family—ACF and ABCF—significantly explained the variance of children’s behavioral problems and parenting stress. The child’s gender was shown to moderate the relationship between ACF parents and their perception of child’s prosocial behavior. The results give relevant clues as to the importance of distinct outcomes in adoptive families—ACF and ABCF—compared to families with only biological children and should, therefore, be a resource for professionals involved in the adopters’ suitability assessment and adoption intervention.     

Are associations between parental divorce and children's adjustment genetically mediated? An adoption study

The hypothesis that the association between parental divorce and children's adjustment is mediated by genetic factors was examined in the Colorado Adoption Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 398 adoptive and biological families. In biological families, children who experienced their parents' separation by the age of 12 years exhibited higher rates of behavioral problems and substance use, and lower levels of achievement and social adjustment, compared with children whose parents' marriages remained intact. Similarly, adopted children who experienced their (adoptive) parents' divorces exhibited elevated levels of behavioral problems and substance use compared with adoptees whose parents did not separate, but there were no differences on achievement and social competence. The findings for psychopathology are consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the association between parent divorce and children's adjustment; in contrast, the findings for achievement and social adjustment are consistent with a genetically mediated explanation involving passive genotype-environment correlation.     

Parents' Sense of "Entitlement" in Adoptive and Nonadoptive Families

The literature suggests that problems with developing a sense of entitlement are unique to adoptive families, but this assumption has not been examined empirically. In this study, a questionnaire was constructed to define operationally those characteristics associated with the construct of entitlement, and was administered to adoptive and nonadoptive families with children averaging 11.5 years in age who presented either for mental health service or were recruited as a comparison-control sample. Factor analysis yielded four factors on which the four groups of subjects were compared. Results indicated that problems with entitlement are not specific to adoptive families. Instead, differences in sense of entitlement occurred primarily between clinic and nonclinic control families, regardless of whether the target child had been adopted. Findings are discussed in terms of methodological shortcomings in the adoption research literature and how problems in entitlement may be associated with other family characteristics.     

Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures: Parental socialisation,ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face‐to‐face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self‐report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self‐esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self‐esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self‐esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation.