Below you will find links to quotes from some of the most current and comprehensive studies on adoption, open adoption, and related adoption issues.
Study: Bridging the Divide: Openness in Adoption and Post-adoption Psychosocial Adjustment among Birth and Adoptive Parents Researcher(s)/Author(s): Xiaojia Ge, Misaki N. Natsuaki, David Martin, Leslie Leve, Jenae Neiderhiser, Daniel S. Shaw, Georgette Villareal, Laura Scaramella, John Reid, and David Reiss Published: Journal of Family Psychology, 2008 pre publication Organization: American Psychological Association Conducted by: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Oregon Social Learning Center, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of California, Davis, University of New Orleans, and Austen Riggs Center Underwritten by: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Page 24 The results that emerged from this study are fairly straightforward: For adoptive parents and birth mothers, the degree of openness in the adoption was significantly and positively associated with satisfaction with the adoption process shortly after the adoptive placement. Increased openness was also significantly related to better post-placement adjustment of birth mothers. The finding that birth mothers who were involved in more open adoptions had better post-placement adjustment outcomes was further strengthened by interviewers' reports of their impression of birth mothers' well-being. These results are in contrast to some earlier claims that open adoption would increase distress among birth and adoptive parents, but are consistent with more recent findings by Grotevant and McRoy's (1998) that voluntary open adoption tends to reduce the stress for all parents involved in the adoption process. Although straightforward, these results have significant implications to adoption practices and offer some important information about settling the controversy of open vs. closed adoption. Our findings provide a formal evaluation of open adoption practices, showing that satisfaction with the adoption process for adoptive and birth parents, and post-adoption well-being of birth mothers are indeed higher when (the) adoption process is more open. Page 26 This study is among the first with a relatively large sample that includes both adoptive and birth parents linked through the adopted child to examine associations between openness and adjustment of birth and adoptive parents. A design that includes both birth mothers and birth fathers provides a more complete picture of the parties involved in the adoption processes.
Study: Open Adoption of Infants: Adoptive Parents' Feelings Seven Years Later Researcher(s)/Author(s): Deborah H. Siegel, PhD, ACSW, LICSW, QCSW, professor, School of Social Work, Rhode Island College Published: Social Work, Vol. 48, number 3, July 2003 Organization: National Association of Social Workers Page 415 The question, "What, if anything, would you do differently in retrospect?" elicited several types of responses. ...Not one respondent wished that she or he had less openness. Responses included, "I wish we had opened up our daughter's adoption sooner." "We wish it had been more open from the start." "I wish we'd made an agreement with the birth mother so we could contact her, not just the other way around." "I wish the birth mother would write, call or send pictures more often." "I wish the lawyer and the agency had helped us discuss a plan for postplacement contact so that we wouldn't have fallen out of touch." "We would have been more assertive with the agency about their notifying the birth mother about our letters to her." Page 415 To ascertain how respondents currently felt about the openness in their children's adoptions, [they] were asked, "If you were to do another open adoption, how open would you want it to be?" Every parent expressed contentment with the openness in their adoptions; if they had adopted more than one child, they preferred the openness in the more open of the adoptions in their household and would want to recreate that level of openness in subsequent adoptions. Responses illustrating these themes included, "We would definitely want any adoption to be open." "I prefer the kind of openness we have now." Any fears that we might have had about openness haven't materialized." Not one respondent wished for less openness. Any expressed desire for change had to do with wanting more contact: "It could be more open. I wouldn't object to it being more open." I'd open it more if the child needed that." "I'd want any adoption to be as open as possible." Page 416 Every respondent (100 percent) agreed that "my child is better off because she or he has access to her or his birth parent. Page 416 The findings also show that many respondents felt empowered in their parental roles by having knowledge of and contact with their children's birth families. Page 416 ...this study corroborates other reports indicating that when adoptive parents feel discomfort with the level of openness they have, it often is in the direction of wanting more, not less, contact with the birth parents (Gritter, 1989, 1997; Silber & Dorner, 1990).
Study: Birth Parents in Adoption: Research, Practice, and Counseling Psychology Researcher(s)/Author(s): Mary O'Leary Wiley and Amanda L. Baden Published: The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 33, No.1, January 2005 Organization: Society of Counseling Psychology Page 16 ...in recent years, those who assist prospective birth mothers (e.g., adoption agencies, attorneys, and medical professionals) have increasingly recognized the need for birth mothers to receive counseling and support, thereby allowing them to face their feelings and the enormous decisions they must make with more compassion and dignity (Janus, 1997; Sobol & Daly, 1992). Page 19 In summarizing the reasons given by birth mothers for making an adoption plan, Chippendale-Bakker and Foster (1996) stated that most "do so out of a belief that it will offer a better life for their child than they are able to provide" (p. 341). Page 40 Lauderdale and Boyle (1994) reported that those who planned open adoptions showed more attachment to their unborn babies and were more likely to seek support and prenatal care, although they experienced more grief in the immediate postadoption period than mothers with closed adoption plans or bereaved parents. Birth mothers who planned closed adoption reported nonattachment to their unborn babies, hid their pregnancies, were less likely to receive prenatal care, and reported more difficulty accepting the loss of the child after relinquishment. Page 41 The most notable pattern was the association between helping to choose the adoptive couple prior to relinquishment and positive social psychological outcomes for birth mothers 4 years later. Those who received letters or pictures reported significantly lower levels of worry and slightly higher levels of relief. Visiting the adoptive family or talking with them on the phone postrelinquishment was strongly associated with lower levels of grief, regret, and worry and greater feelings of relief and peace regarding the adoption.
Study: Safeguarding the Rights and Well-Being of Birthparents in the Adoption Process Researcher(s)/Author(s): Susan Livingston Smith, PhD, LCSW, is a Professor of Social Work at Illinois State University and Program & Project Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Published: www.adoptioninstitute.org, 2006 Organization: The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Page 2 Principally because adoption is not well understood by the public generally, most women struggling to make decisions about unplanned pregnancies do not have accurate information with which to make an informed choice about whether this is a reasonable option for them. Research findings consistently show that women who feel pressured into placing their children suffer from poorer grief resolution and greater negative feelings. Current research on birthmothers concludes that being able to choose the adoptive family and having ongoing contact and/or knowledge results in lower levels of grief and greater peace of mind with their adoption decisions. Page 14 To the benefit of everyone involved, adoptions today have changed - and are still changing - radically. They are becoming more open and honest, and women considering placing their children can exercise more self-determination.
Study: Adoptees Do Not Lack Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis of Studies on Self-Esteem of Transracial, International, and Domestic Adoptees Researcher(s)/Author(s): Femmie Juffer and Marinus van Ijzendoorn at the Centre for Child & Family Studies, Leiden University in The Netherlands Published: Psychological Bulletin, November 2007, Vol. 133, No. 6, 1067-1083 Organization: American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association recently published a significant study, based on years of research and analysis, that found that there are no differences in self-esteem between adopted and nonadopted children and no differences in self-esteem between transracial and same-race adopted children. Past research strongly suggested that adopted children have lower self-esteem than nonadoptive children. Past research has also suggested that the self-esteem of children of color suffers when raised in a family of a different race. Self-esteem, or self-worth as it is sometimes known, is at the core of an individual's identity and plays a pivatol role during one's formative years. The study, Adoptees Do Not Lack Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis of Studies on Self-Esteem of Transracial, International, and Domestic Adoptees, conducted by Femmie Juffer and Marinus van Ijzendoorn at the Centre for Child & Family Studies, Leiden University in The Netherlands, found that there is "no difference in self-esteem between adopted and nonadopted [children]. This was equally true for international, domestic, and transracial adoptees [where] no differences in self-esteem were found between transracial and same-race adoptees." The study, published in the November 2007 journal, Psychological Bulletin, a publication of the American Psychological Association, analyzed data from 88 studies that had been conducted over a number of years. Researchers and psychologists have long held the belief that adopted children are at-risk for low self-esteem and that many of them "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." The results of this study clearly refute these long-held beliefs. According to the study, adoptees' resilience to overcome early adversity was supported by the large emotional investment made by adoptive families. Further, the study's findings supported adoption as an effective intervention that can lead to normal self-esteem.
Study: Expanding Resources For Children: Is Adoption By Gays and Lesbians Part of the Answer for Boys and Girls Who Need Homes? Researcher(s)/Author(s): Jeanne Howard, PhD, is Policy & Research Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and a Professor in Social Work at Illinois State University, where she co-directs the Center for Adoption Studies. Published: www.adoptioninstitute.org, 2006 Organization: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released a report through their Policy Perspectives that examines relevant issues, laws and practices relating to gay and lesbian adoption and parenting, and review of the available studies spanning the last several decades. The report found no child-centered reason to prevent gays and lesbians from becoming adoptive parents. The report, written by Jeanne Howard, PhD, was published in March 2006. The study served two principal functions: to inform and provide context for the often-fractious debate over gay/lesbian adoption currently taking place in our country; and to provide information that can be used to shape best practices that focus on providing boys and girls in the child welfare system with safe, committed and enduring families. Principal findings
The move to expanding the pool of adoptive parents requires legal, organizational and attitudinal change. If child welfare professionals, children's advocates and policymakers wish to enlarge the pool of parental resources to include these parents, among the steps they should consider are: Recommendations
Conduct research to inform the development of resources, training, and support to improve post-adoption success. And work to include and educate children in the process, recognizing that they may encounter prejudice if adopted by gay parents.
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