Communication about children’s origins among same-gender adoptive parent families in Belgium, France, and Spain
Messina, R. and Farr, R.H. and Tasker, Fiona (2023) Communication about children’s origins among same-gender adoptive parent families in Belgium, France, and Spain. Family Relations , ISSN 1741-3729.
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Abstract
Objective: This study explored communication about children’s origins among same-gender parent adoptive families. Background: Although this topic has been widely researched among different-gender parent adoptive families, communication about origins among those with same-gender parents, as well as sexual minority identity dynamics relevant to this crucial task, remain unexplored. Method: A sample of same-gender adoptive couples (N = 31) from Belgium, France, and Spain with children aged between 4 and 18 years (Mage = 8.9 years) participated in a semistructured interview and a graphic projective test aimed at explore their feelings and communication process about their adopted child’s birth family. Results: Inductive thematic analysis yielded a continuum of three main stances conveyed by adoptive parents regarding their child’s origins: (a) critical/minimization, (b) cautious/uncertainty, and (c) open/validation. The first (critical/minimization) was associated with experiences of sexual minority stigma and poorer communication about children’s origins and sexual minority family-related issues, while the second (cautious/uncertainty) was characterized by mixed feelings (i.e., at times open, at times critical) in communicating about origins and parents’ sexual minority experiences. The third (open/validation) was associated with positive feelings toward adoptive and sexual minority family statuses, as well as identity integration as a lesbian or gay parent and low internalized sexual stigma. Conclusion: Our findings underline the importance of sexual minority identity issues in relation to communication about children’s origins in same-gender parent adoptive families. Implications: These findings have important implications for both adoption assessment and therapeutic work with same-gender adoptive parent families.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | adopted children, birth family connections, family communication, lesbian and gay adoptive parents, qualitative research |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Gender and Sexuality, Birkbeck (BiGS) |
| Depositing User: | Fiona Tasker |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2023 15:57 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 18:21 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/51558 |
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