Maintaining Open Adoption Relationships: Practitioner Insights on Adoptive Parents’ Regulation of Adoption Kinship Networks

Colaner, Colleen Warner; Scharp, Kristina M.

doi:10.1080/10510974.2016.1164208

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Although truncating continuous data into two-level categorical groups reduced data range, two factors prompted this decision. First, open adoption contact ebbs and flows significantly over the calendar year (Colaner & Scharp, 2016). Thus, having a particular mode of contact opened or closed is likely more important than the frequency with which that mode is used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Face-to-face communication provides the richest form of contact in open adoption, allowing for direct interaction across a range of verbal and nonverbal behaviors (Colaner & Scharp, 2016). Face-to-face communication is associated with considerable relationship development but also provides increased opportunities for boundary and role violations (Brodzinsky & Goldberg, 2016).…”

Section: Privacy Management Across Communication Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Open adoption creates multifaceted relationships that depend on complex discourse to shape and sustain them (Galvin & Colaner, 2013). Privacy management is one of the central communication processes in open adoption relationships (Colaner & Scharp, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Communication Privacy Management in Open Adoption Relationships: Negotiating Co-ownership across In-person and Mediated Communication

Colaner

Bish

Butauski

et al. 2021

Communication Research

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Open adoption relationships are rife with privacy dilemmas and fuzzy boundaries, which require ongoing coordination of private disclosures as a result. The present study employed communication privacy management (CPM) theory to examine adoptive parents’ ( N = 354) private disclosures with the birth family across in-person and mediated (i.e., texting and social media) contexts. SEM analysis revealed that adoptive families who were more private and were concerned about the birth family sharing private information with others viewed disclosures to the birth family as risky. These privacy concerns related to adoptive parents being more clear with the birth family about preferences for sharing that private information with others. More social media contact between birth and adoptive parents predicted increased perceptions of risk of disclosure to birth parents. Results advance CPM theorizing by underscoring the motivational bases of perceived risk, the importance of anticipated boundary turbulence, and the nuanced privacy management processes within communication modes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Privacy Management Across Communication Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Communication Privacy Management in Open Adoption Relationships: Negotiating Co-ownership across In-person and Mediated Communication

Colaner

Bish

Butauski

et al. 2021

Communication Research

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“…The introduction of a birth family member into the family system requires a renegotiation of roles and identity for two reasons (Colaner et al, 2014;Colaner & Scharp, 2016). First, the adoptee-birth parent relationship is one that lacks a script or schema, meaning that adoptees do not have readily available terms with which to identify or refer to their birth parents (Docan-Morgan, 2017; Galvin, 2006;March, 1997).…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, adoptees from closed adoptions are frequently unable to make contact with their birth parents until they reach adulthood , by which time they usually have created a family identity in relation to their adoptive family (Colaner, Halliwell, & Guignon, 2014). For these adoptees, birth family contact can be as challenging as it is fulfilling (Colaner et al, 2014;Colaner & Scharp, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“To Meet Her, that Changed Everything”: Adult Adoptees’ Discursive Construction of the Meaning of “Parent” following Birth Parent Contact

Anzur

Myers

2019

Journal of Family Communication

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This dissertation examined the competing discourses that emerged as adult adoptees constructed the meaning of the term "parent" following contact with a birth parent. As a type of nontraditional family, adoptees have "dual membership" (Colaner, Halliwell, & Guignon, 2014) in both their adoptive and birth families. When making contact with a birth parent, adoptees may have to renegotiate the meaning of the term "parent" to include the birth parent. Relational Dialectics Theory (Baxter, 2011; Baxter & Montgomery, 1996) was used because it is an interpretive theory that allows researchers to study contradictory feelings-or competing discourses-that emerge in nontraditional families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 adult adoptees who had made contact with a birth parent. Contrapuntal analysis (Baxter, 2011) uncovered two primary discourses that emerge as participants constructed a definition of "parent" following contact with their birth parent. The first discourse, discourse of parent as a specific person (DPSP), emerged when participants felt that "parent" referred exclusively to their adoptive parents; these participants did not change their definition of "parent" when they made contact with their birth parent. The second discourse, discourse of parent as a label (DPL), emerged when participants defined "parent" as a flexible role that could be filled by multiple people. These participants felt that their definition of "parent" changed only after making contact with their birth parent, and they included their birth parent in their definition of "parent." These discourses demonstrated interplay through negating, countering, and entertaining. The results of this dissertation add to the body of literature on adoptive family communication and RDT, and have implications for adoption practitioners. Three primary limitations should be considered: the use of a sample recruited from an adoption forum, the use of a sample that is not representative of the adoptee population, and three assumptions of birth family contact that were made prior to data collection. Despite these limitations, the results offer potential avenues of research for adoptive family communication researchers. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is the part of the dissertation where I recognize the many wonderful individuals who helped me in my journey through this program. There will never be enough space, nor the right words, for me to fully acknowledge everything that these people have done for me, but this is a start. To my parents, Lynette and Dan, thank you for your unwavering support and for never failing to be proud of me, even when you weren't sure exactly what it was that I was doing. You instilled in me a work ethic and determination that got me to this point (and also a stubborn streak that has gotten me in trouble occasionally). To my sister, Kayla, my very first and best friend, thank you for being an endless source of entertainment whenever I needed a pick-me-up. Tante Angela, thank you for providing support in every sense of the w...

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Communication and Adoptive Families

2019

Communication in Family Contexts

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Maintaining Open Adoption Relationships: Practitioner Insights on Adoptive Parents’ Regulation of Adoption Kinship Networks

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

Communication Privacy Management in Open Adoption Relationships: Negotiating Co-ownership across In-person and Mediated Communication

Communication Privacy Management in Open Adoption Relationships: Negotiating Co-ownership across In-person and Mediated Communication

“To Meet Her, that Changed Everything”: Adult Adoptees’ Discursive Construction of the Meaning of “Parent” following Birth Parent Contact

Communication and Adoptive Families

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