Adoption Preparedness,Cultural Engagement,and Parental Satisfaction in Intercountry Adoption

We explored factors that influence parental involvement in adoption dialogues in 66 internationally adoptive, heterosexual couples with 4- to 7-year old children. Correlates of adoption involvement varied by parent sex. Mothers were more involved in talking about adoption than fathers, but adoption involvement was also correlated within couples. Emphasis on the difference between biological versus adoptive parenting, quality of the marital relationship, and child characteristics were differentially associated with maternal and paternal involvement. Findings suggest an intricate interplay between the marital and co-parental dynamics that shape the early communication process within adoptive families.     

The Changing Environment of Adoption Practice: Focus on Intercountry Adoption to the United States

This article reviews the history of domestic and international adoption, examines international agreements and U.S. statutes that govern intercountry adoption, and assesses the current landscape of adoption agency practice, with major emphasis on the United States. The article focuses specifically on environmental factors that have driven change in both practice and policy concerning international adoption. The theoretical lens of population ecology offers a helpful perspective on the demographic and cultural trends that have transformed adoption and adoption agencies, particularly as they shifted toward international placements beginning in the mid-twentieth century.     

A Study of Australian Intercountry Adoption: Choosing Applicants to Parent

Abstract

Australian families are changing and parenthood is increasingly being seen as an individual choice. One important arena for exercising such choice is adoption, which today takes place across national boundaries in the form of intercountry adoption. This is now the predominant type of adoption in Australia. In order to reach their goal of parenthood, individuals choosing intercountry adoption must undergo an education and assessment process. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken as part of a larger doctoral study, with prospective intercountry adoptive parents, intercountry adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and support group representatives living in Australia. Three groups were found to exist in relation to the intercountry adoption assessment process: embracers, acceptors, and pragmatists. Factors influencing each group are discussed and suggestions for strengthening the role and efficacy of education and assessment in the selection of Australian intercountry adoptive parents are recommended.     

Communicative Openness About Adoption and Interest in Contact in a Sample of Domestic and Intercountry Adolescent Adoptees

Adolescent intercountry (n = 122) and domestic (n = 40) adoptees and their adoptive parents were asked about their views on communicative openness. The adoptees were also asked for their thoughts on birth parents and contact. A modest association between communicative openness and feelings about adoptive status and self-esteem was found. Girls were more interested in many aspects of their adoptions than boys. Compared with the situation at 11 years of age, there was greater parent-child agreement on whether the child had difficulties talking about adoption. Nevertheless, at age 15, children were still nearly twice as likely to report difficulties talking about adoption issues than their adoptive parents realized. At the age of 15, the majority of the adoptees expressed a desire for contact with birth relatives, but this was a reduction from the numbers at age 11. They also reported finding it easier to talk about adoption issues than they did at the age of 11. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Adoption in the Media

Abstract

This article reviews four print pieces from national magazines and newspapers. They cover the subjects of adoption of older children from foster care, importing pregnant women from foreign countries to facilitate American adoptions of their babies, the death of a child with reactive attachment disorder, and the adoption of Chinese girls in New York City.     

Positive and Negative Aspects of Transracial Adoption: An Exploratory Study From Korean Transracial Adoptees' Perspectives

Participants, 92 Korean-born transracial international adoptees, responded to two open-ended questions designed to explore both positive and negative aspects of transracial adoption. Almost all of them reported experiencing both benefits and challenges, suggesting that transracial adoption is more complex than the polarized “success or failure” paradigm that underlies much of the transracial adoption research. Participants described negative features that are consistent with themes in the extant literature, including racism, alienation from their White families and peers, unfamiliarity with Korean culture, and identity confusion. They also described positive aspects that have been less frequently explored, such as greater learning and awareness and advantages of belonging to multiple cultures. Of interest, facets that some adoptees considered to be positive aspects of transracial adoption were considered by others to be negative aspects.     

Interracial Marriage Trends and Migration Patterns: An Analysis of LAFANS 2000

We hypothesized that interracial married couples will migrate more than intraracial married couples. We focus on three mechanisms (education, social support, and discrimination) that provide explanations for interracial couples to migrate more than interracial couples. The theoretical framework included the “Push-Pull” theory and perspective on social network ties and how they link to couples migration patterns. We used information gathered in a wave of the survey conducted in 2000 for the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study. We used this survey and analyzed in a logistic regression model how the three mechanisms described above affect interracial married couples and migration patterns. The results provide a positive direction but did not provide a statistical significant due to small sample size. In conclusion, we find support from all three mechanisms for interracial marriage couples to have higher possibility for migration. Future implications should examine divorce rate and cohabitation to provide a higher migration pattern with interracial married couples.     

Changes in Motivation for Adoption,Value Orientations and Behavior in Three Generations of Adoptive Parents

ABSTRACT

It is hypothesized that in this century a pattern of three generations of adoptive parents has developed: the traditional-closed generation, the open-idealistic, and the materialistic-realistic generation. These three generations differ considerably in motives and attitudes concerning adoption. Changes in the adoption field are connected with important changes in society. Adoption has lost its taboo character, domestic adoption is decreasing or has almost vanished (Scandinavia, The Netherlands) and interracial adoption has started. Several figures illustrating changes in adoption patterns during the period 1960–1995 support the hypothesis.     

Deciding Not to Adopt: The Role of Normative Family Ideologies in Adoption Consideration

ABSTRACT

Americans view adoption favorably, yet few consider adopting or actually adopt a child. Using qualitative data from the representative National Survey of Fertility Barriers, we explored why women who had considered adoption decided not to pursue it as a pathway to parenthood. Our sample includes responses from 1,747 women who considered adoption at some point. Seven themes emerged: prioritization of biology, economic concerns, family building prerequisites, relationship barriers, barriers to adoption, family barriers, and change of heart. Findings highlight that barriers to adoption are not always the primary reasons women opt out of adoption; normative conceptualizations of “family” are also important.     

The Ethnic Identification of Same-Race Children in Intercountry Adoption

Intercountry adoption is a worldwide phenomenon that has been drawing an ever-increasing amount of research attention. The vast majority of that research has focused on transracial adoptive relationships and, in particular, the ethnic socialization and adjustment of children adopted into racially different families. Very little is known about the ethnic identity development of internationally adopted children who are racially similar to their adoptive parents. In the current study, 50 children adopted into New Zealand from Eastern Europe were interviewed on their ethnic self-identification and self-concept. The adoptees scored in the midrange on an ethnic identity scale and in the high range on a self-concept scale. However, no correlation was found between the two indices, suggesting that ethnic self-identification and self-concept operate independent of each other. These results, plus additional data collected during the interviews, are discussed in light of the New Zealand context and as they relate to the transracial adoption literature.     

Communicative Correlates of Satisfaction,Family Identity,and Group Salience in Multiracial/Ethnic Families

Guided by the Common Ingroup Identity Model ( S. L. Gaertner & J. F. Dovidio, 2000 ) and Communication Accommodation Theory ( C. Shepard, H. Giles, & B. A. LePoire, 2001 ), we examined the role of identity accommodation, supportive communication, and self‐disclosure in predicting relational satisfaction, shared family identity, and group salience in multiracial/ethnic families. Additionally, we analyzed the association between group salience and relational outcomes as well as the moderating roles of multiracial/ethnic identity and marital status. Individuals who have parents from different racial/ethnic groups were invited to complete questionnaires on their family experiences. Participants (N = 139) answered questions about relationships with mothers, fathers, and grandparents. The results of the multilevel modeling analyses are discussed in terms of implications for understanding multiracial/ethnic families and family functioning.     

Effects of Network Approval on Accounts of Commitment Trajectories in Intraracial and Interracial Relationships

The current study used dyadic data to investigate the impact of relationship type and social support on the retrospective accounts of commitment trajectories of romantic relationships. Past research suggests that social support is a positive contributor to relationship stability and commitment, which may be especially true for partners in interracial relationships who face broader societal opposition than intraracial couples. Using multilevel modeling, we investigated the effects of sex, relationship type, and social support on reports of commitment. Results showed differences in trajectories of commitment based on couple type (interracial vs. intraracial) for both men and women. Social support was found to have an especially strong impact for women in interracial relationships compared with women in intraracial relationships, but there was no differential impact among men.     

How discrimination in adoptive,foster, and medical systems harms LGBTQ+ families: Research on the experiences of prospective parents

Abstract

LGBTQ+?people face multiple challenges to parenthood because of barriers such as discriminatory legislation and policies influencing foster parenting, adoption, and reproductive health services. This study documents these obstacles and examines their impact through a grounded theory analysis of interviews of LGBTQ+?prospective parents. Stressors included social isolation, unnecessary medicalization, prohibitive financial costs related to accessing social and medical services (sometimes across state lines), and being denied services, parental leave, and insurance coverage. Findings indicate that heteronormative attitudes and discrimination can lead to debilitating and enduring harm upon the economic, emotional, and relational well-being of growing LGBTQ+?families.     

Attachment,Affective Responsiveness,and Cohesion in Adoptive Families: Child and Parent Perspectives

Some adoptive families are at risk for problems in family functioning. This study investigated the extent to which attachment to parents and affective responsiveness of the family predicted family cohesion and satisfaction with the adoptive family from both the child's and the parent's perspectives. Using a sample of 50 adopted children and their parents, our findings indicated that attachment to mother was salient in predicting children's perceptions of family cohesion and satisfaction with their adoptive family. Parental ratings of affective responsiveness of the family predicted parents' evaluation of family cohesion and their satisfaction with the adoption. As hypothesized, children and parents differed in their ratings of the cohesion and affective responsiveness of their family, with children reporting lower levels of these constructs than parents. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.     

Changing Patterns of Interracial Marriage in a Multiracial Society

We use incidence data from the 1980 Census and 2008 American Community Survey to track recent trends in interracial marriage. Intermarriage with Whites increased rapidly among Blacks but stalled among Asians and American Indians. Black–White intermarriage increased threefold over 1980–2008, independent of changing socioeconomic status, suggesting declining social distance between Blacks and Whites. Marriages between the U.S.‐ and foreign‐born populations also grew rapidly. Marriages to immigrants increased fivefold among U.S.‐born Asian women and doubled among U.S.‐born Latinas since 1980. Out‐marriage to Whites also was higher among self‐identified biracial than monoracial individuals, but these differences were smallest among Blacks. Interracial couples were overrepresented among cohabiting couples. Finally, log‐linear models provide evidence of growing racial exogamy, but only after adjusting for changing demographic opportunities for intermarriage. Marriages between U.S.‐ and foreign‐born coethnics have been driven by new immigration while slowing the upward trajectory of interracial marriage in America.     

Birth Mothers' Perceptions of Their Parented Children's Knowledge of and Involvement in Adoption

An examination of birth mothers' perceptions of the relationship between the children she is parenting and the children she placed for adoption offers unique insight into the life course of openness. In the present study, 94 birth mothers from the United States participated in a semi-structured interview, discussing their oldest parented children's knowledge of and experience with their siblings placed for adoption. Results show that 59 birth mothers have an oldest parented child who is aware of their adopted sibling, although 4 of these do not know their true relationship with the adopted sibling. Of these, 27 had direct contact with the adopted sibling, 4 had indirect contact through the birth mother, and 1 had previous contact that has since ceased. A majority of birth mothers indicated that their oldest parented child would like more contact, direct contact, or more information about the adopted youth. Implications for research and practice with birth mothers and their children separated by adoption are discussed.     

Many Faces of Openness in Adoption: Perspectives of Adopted Adolescents and Their Parents

Parents and adolescents (mean age, 15.7 years) from 177 adoptive families participating in the second wave of the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project were interviewed about their post-adoption contact arrangements. The sample included families with no contact, stopped contact, contact without meetings, and contact with face-to-face meetings between the adolescent and birth mother. Openness arrangements were dynamic, and different openness arrangements were associated with different experiences and feelings. Adoptive families with contact reported having higher levels of satisfaction about their openness arrangements, experiencing more positive feelings about the birth mother, and possessing more factual and personal knowledge about the birth mother than did families without contact. Adolescents and adoptive mothers in the contact with meetings group reported the greatest satisfaction with their openness arrangements; those with no contact or stopped contact reported the least satisfaction with their arrangements. Participants having no contact were more likely to want the intensity of contact to increase in the future rather than stay the same. Many participants already having contact wanted it to increase in the future. Fewer than 1 percent of all participants wanted to see the intensity of contact decrease.     

Supporting Vulnerable Families Through School-Based Mental Health Services: Results of Caregiver and Teacher Focus Groups

Family perspectives facilitate participation and positive outcomes in child mental health treatment. In schools, families and teachers must cooperate to best meet children's mental health needs, also making teacher perspectives important. In this study, caregivers and teachers participated in focus groups following the pilot year of a school-based mental health (SBMH) project. Participants noted successes and challenges of the project and suggested improvements. Although this study focuses on the SBMH project, many of the study implications are applicable to other school mental health programs and may be of value to school and community practitioners.     

How Qualitative Research Can Inform Clinical Interventions in Families Recovering From Sibling Sexual Abuse

The impact of sibling sexual abuse (SSA) has been culturally and therapeutically minimised and has received scant research attention. Furthermore, prior research has focused upon the separate experiences of the victim or the offender, or upon seeking family dysfunction explanations. In contrast, this qualitative study attempts to understand the experiences of all family members (victims, offenders, parents and other siblings) when SSA is disclosed. The pathway to recovery for each family member is identified. A systemic analysis of these (often conflicted) pathways of recovery provides some surprising findings and contributes to an understanding of the difficulties facing families in this situation, the constraints on family support and connectedness, validation for the victim and offender accountability.