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

Abstract

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.

Retos y dificultades para la implantación de la adopción abierta en España. El papel de la mediación

“…La adopción abierta es una medida utilizada desde los años 90 en otros países como EE UU, Gran Bretaña, Alemania, Austria, Canadá o Nueva Zelanda, con una valoración en general positiva por parte de todos los implicados, adoptados, familias biológicas, familias adoptivas y mundo profesional (Avery, 1998;Berry, 1993;Brodzinsky, Schechter, y Marantz Henig 2011;Grotevan y McRoy, 1998;Grotevant et al, 2008;Grotevant, McRoy, Wrobel y Ayers-López, 2013;Sullivan, 2004).…”

“…Son numerosos los estudios que señalan las ventajas de la adopción abierta (Grotevant et al, 2008;Haas, 2015;Siegel, 2012). En concreto, el estudio de Grotevant el al.…”

“…También se plantean dificultades cuando la familia de origen pertenece a una cultura o etnia distinta a la de la familia biológica, porque suponen un salto cultural y de valores mayor. En cualquier caso, las decisiones deberían tomarse caso por caso (Von Korff et al, 2008) ya que por el momento se carece de guías estandarizadas para la toma de decisiones; y también de un cuerpo formado de profesionales formados para estos casos (Brown et al, 2007) En relación con el último punto, destaca la llamada que hacen los expertos a la necesidad de dotar de garantías al procedimiento, mediante la información, preparación y apoyo a las familias tanto biológica como adoptiva y al propio menor por profesionales especialmente formados, del seguimiento de los casos, para poder plantear modificaciones a la medida si el caso lo requiere, a la regulación de las vías de contacto, la mediación entre las partes para establecer acuerdos sobre el cómo, el cuándo, etc. de esos encuentros, y poder contar con Puntos de encuentro para la supervisión de los contactos directos.…”

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

“…Every open adoption arrangement differs with regard to reasons for placement and the personalities and preferences of the individuals involved (Grotevant et al, 2008). Given such variation, there is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach to open adoption arrangements (Atwood, 2007).…”

Preventing exploitation, promoting equity: findings from the International Forum on Intercountry Adoption and Global Surrogacy 2014

“…Despite studies showing that open adoptions potentially benefit adoptees, first mothers and adoptive parents (Grotevant, et al, 2007;2013), the majority of intercountry adoptions remain closed, with full severance of ties. Forum participants were overwhelmingly against the 'clean break' model that dominates ICA; not only is it premised on completing western families' notions of exclusive, nuclear parenthood but 'it sets up the terms of what connections mean, effectively erasing origins' (Ho¨gbacka, 2014: 8).…”