Open Adoption Research Paper

Citation:
Siegel, D. (2003). Open adoption of infants: adoptive parent’s feelings seven years later. Social Work,48(3), 409-419. doi:sw/48.3.409

Research Question:
Although, it is not primarily a question itself, this study focuses on adoptive parents’ perceptions of their infants’ open adoptions seven years ago, as well as exploring the parents’ reaction now that their children are school age.

Key Questions/ Issues guiding the study:
This type of study is defined as a qualitative descriptive study because the study itself is observing the changes in the openness of adoptions over time. The study also used four dimensions and how much open adoptions vary by definition. Before this study was conducted, most adoptions were known to be “closed”
The author of this article, Deborah Siegel, described open adoption as several different levels and processes. She provided detail with “open” adoption verse “semi open” adoption. There have been different spectrums provided for social workers and agencies to help guide families in the process. One specific one, that the study focuses on is, Grotevant and McRoy’s spectrum. This spectrum discussed openness and had different degrees and different ways of contact and communication that an adoptive family might have with that child’s birth mother. Researchers have done their best to allow the definition be broad, that way there is not specific guideline in which a family has indeed should follow with adoption. The researchers tried finding ways in which social workers and agencies can help describe to a family what an open adoption is like and how other families describe it. There has yet to be a true study on this, which is why Siegel developed a study of following open adoption families. Several questions from this research were focused on and there was an attempt to answer them such as, “What, if any, form of open adoption meets human needs?” (Siegel, 2003, p. 411).
One being, open adoption is not easily defined to the public. It goes on to describe how every adoption is different and not one single one is the same. The study also guided to show that birth parents were comfortable with the adopted families and glad it worked out. It also focused on the adoptive parents and how they feel towards contact with the birth parent’s. The study also showed how open adoption can change at any point over time just like a relationship with humans. Lastly, the findings show that social workers should have a responsibility with educating the public on open