The Maintenance of Traditional and Technological Forms of Post‐Adoption Contact

Greenhow, Sarah; Hackett, Simon; Jones, Christine; Meins, Elizabeth

doi:10.1002/car.2446

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…She felt the desire to get some answers from her birth mother. However, as Greenhow et al (2016) found in their study of traditional and technological forms of post-adoption contact, “out of the blue” virtual contact, without prior managed contact, like the one Janette experienced, can be challenging, and she was not given any support to deal with it:Well of course you search for them. Like I’m sure everybody does it.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

Fargas-Malet

McSherry

2020

Journal of Family Issues

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Research focused on relationships and contact with birth family for children and young people who were separated from them as infants has rarely acknowledged the emotional and dynamic nature of such interactions. Curiosity has been dominant in adoption research. However, in our longitudinal study of young people who entered care at a young age, a range of other feelings and combination of feelings emerged in the youths’ narratives, including contentment and mixed feelings such as anger, affection, loss, guilt, or worry. Type of placement, that is, whether the young people had been adopted, lived with kinship foster carers or non-relative foster parents, did not determine their emotional reactions to their birth family. The young people’s perspectives and emotions often changed over time. In this article, we describe the young people’s emotional responses to birth family, and highlight implications for theory, research, and practice.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

Fargas-Malet

McSherry

2020

Journal of Family Issues

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“…In other words, social media may allow others to find and view your information without your knowledge. A few studies that included the perspectives of both adoptive parents and adopted adults (primarily within the United Kingdom) found that tech-mediated contact that was used as a supplement to already established relationships with birth families helped to make contact feel less formal and thereby normalize the adoptees' dual connection with their birth family (Greenhow et al, 2016;Neil et al, 2013;Samuels, 2018).…”

Section: Tech-mediated Communication Withmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tech‐Mediated and Traditional Communication Modes in Adult Adoptees' Contact With Birth Parents

et al. 2020

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ObjectiveTo understand how adult adoptees use traditional and tech‐mediated modes of communication in contact with birth parents. To examine associations between desire for increased use of both modes and quality of relationship.BackgroundAs tech‐mediated modes of communication become more commonplace, it is important to understand their implications for family relationship quality. Limited research has examined the use of tech‐mediated modes of communication between adult adoptees and birth parents.MethodParticipants (Mage = 31 years) were adopted as infants (N = 90). Participants reported their current and desired future use of traditional and tech‐mediated communication modes and their satisfaction with contact, current closeness, desired future closeness, and psychological presence of birth parents.ResultsThose with current contact reported using both traditional and tech‐mediated modes of communication. Desired increase of traditional modes was associated with greater psychological presence and desired future closeness with birth mothers, while both traditional and tech‐mediated were associated with these outcomes for birth fathers.ConclusionAdult adoptees use both traditional and tech‐mediated modes of communication with their birth parents. However, these modes may play distinct roles in maintaining close relationships with birth parents.ImplicationsFamily professionals should consider the unique roles traditional and tech‐mediated modes of communication may play when supporting adult adoptees in contact with birth relatives.

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“…This sentiment is echoed in the wider literature on attitudes towards young people's use of technology in which carers, adoptive parents and social workers emphasize safeguarding from online harm, risk management and the perils of overusing devices (MacDonald et al, 2017 ). Moreover, digital contact is viewed as posing significant risks to the emotional wellbeing of children and young people when it occurs ‘out‐of‐the‐blue’ or outside of an established relationship; it has been formally prohibited or is unsupported by carers and adoptive parents (Greenhow et al, 2016 ; MacDonald & McSherry, 2013 ; Neil et al, 2013 ). Yet it is important to note that a study by Sen ( 2010 ) found that even when practitioners did not have first‐hand experience of children using technology for contact, they constructed it primarily as a risk rather than an opportunity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Action research with caseworkers: Responding to and reflecting on the impacts of COVID‐19 on birth family contact

Ciftci

Collings

Wright

2022

Child & Family Social Work

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Social distancing due to COVID‐19 forced changes to contact with birth relatives for children in out‐of‐home care. This required a shift to using technologies, which was previously underutilized and viewed as risky. In an action research study, 33 caseworkers in New South Wales, Australia, reflected upon adapting their practices. Three key themes characterized the changes in caseworker practices and how these impacted upon social interactions between children and their birth and carer families: communication, not location; shared not separate spaces and spontaneous not restricted interaction. First, caseworkers described how contact via technologies involved fewer logistical arrangements, shifting the focus on interactions among children and their two families and encouraging these to be flexible and child‐centred. Second, caseworkers discussed how spending time together virtually could build trust, as carers and birth relatives could forge relationships around shared commitment to the child's wellbeing. Third, caseworkers noted that technology‐facilitated communication enabled greater choice and control for children while requiring renegotiating boundaries. The findings reflect a shift in caseworker perceptions of technology‐facilitated contact from a risk to opportunity framework as a result of COVID‐19 conditions, consistent with social shaping of technology theory. Beyond the pandemic, contact with birth relatives can be enhanced through technology.

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The Maintenance of Traditional and Technological Forms of Post‐Adoption Contact

Cited by 11 publications

References 12 publications

The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

Tech‐Mediated and Traditional Communication Modes in Adult Adoptees' Contact With Birth Parents

Action research with caseworkers: Responding to and reflecting on the impacts of COVID‐19 on birth family contact

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