Adoption research commonly uses parents' reports of satisfaction when examining openness in adoption arrangements. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in the adoption research by using adolescents' voices to gain a better understanding of their adoption experiences. Adopted adolescents (n = 152) were interviewed concerning their…

Maintains that transracial adoptions will not significantly reduce the number of African American children in the child welfare system. Asserts that recruitment of adoptive African American parents is hampered by child welfare practices and legislative initiatives. Argues that the transracial adoption debate diverts attention from the differential…

Explores interview excerpts of African-American adults adopted either transracially or interracially to discuss implications of color for special-needs adoptions. Finds that the issue of color extends beyond racial differences to include skin tone and that children are aware of and internalize color at an early age. Suggests that adoption agencies…

Claims that although agencies specializing in adoption of minority children have been successful in achieving same-race adoptive placements for African American children, funding and support for some of these initiatives have been withheld. Describes successful placement practices used by a private agency in California and a public agency in…

Examines relationship between intensity of adopted adolescents' thinking about their adoptions and their adoptive family relationships in 135 adopted adolescents. Adolescents with extremely high levels of preoccupation reported significantly higher levels of alienation and significantly lower levels of trust for their adoptive mothers and fathers.…

Interviewed private adoption agency staff in 1987-89 and 1993 to examine the impact of open adoption on practices and services. Found that over time, agencies offered a greater range of openness options. Client demand, changes in agency philosophy, and competition from independent or private adoptions were among the most salient reasons for…

The decision to search for birthparents is one that all adopted persons consider. The focus of this study is to describe, for a group of adopted adolescents, who chooses to search and who does not and to explore how search behavior is related to the functioning of the adolescents' adoptive families and adolescents' psychological adjustment.…

Noting social and demographic changes provoking a trend toward openness in adoption practice, this book presents the findings from a nationwide study examining the impact of variations in openness in adoption on participants in the adoptive kinship network: adopted children, adoptive parents, and the children's birth parents. The first chapter of…

Examined psychosocial engagement of adopted adolescents as a function of longitudinal patterns of stability and change in parents' perceptions of the child's compatibility within the family. Identified five patterns of stability and change in compatibility. Found that a sense of compatibility within the family is related to the emergence of…

Examined grief resolution issues for birthmothers who placed infants for adoption. Found that birthmothers in fully disclosed adoptions had better resolution than with confidential and time-limited mediated adoptions, and those in ongoing mediated had better resolution than with time-limited mediated adoptions. Findings pose implications for…

Examined links between early risk and problematic developmental outcomes in adopted children during middle childhood. Found no direct relation between prenatal, perinatal, or preplacement risk factors and problematic socioemotional adjustment. With 12 high-risk children, proactive cooperation among the child's adoptive and birth family members on…