Elsevier

Children and Youth Services Review

Volume 20, Issues 1–2, January–February 1998, Pages 151-171
Children and Youth Services Review

Practice
The role of open adoption in the adjustment of adopted children and their families

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-7409(97)00071-6Get rights and content

Abstract

Findings from a four-year study of over 700 adoptions by non-foster parents indicate that openness has decreased or ceased among a large proportion of adoptions, primarily among those adoptive families who chose openness at the recommendation or insistence of the adoption agency or agent. For all families in the fourth year of their adoption, satisfaction levels and other indicators of adjustment are very positive, with openness bearing little relation to adjustment at this point.

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  • Cited by (0)

    At the time of the study Marianne Berry and Richard P. Barth were Co-Principal Investigators of the California Long-range Adoption Study. This research was supported by a grant from the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services to the Child Welfare Research Center at the University of California, and by a grant from the Research Enhancement Program, University of Texas at Arlington to the senior author. Special thanks to each of the families who participated in the survey.

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