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Title: |
Redefining family relationships following adoption: adoptive parents' perspectives on the changing nature of kinship between adoptees and birth relatives. |
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Reference: |
British Journal of Social Work, 42(2), March 2012, pp.283-299. |
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ISSN paper: |
0045-3102 |
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ISSN online: |
1468-263X |
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Abstract: |
The traditional model of domestic adoption in the UK and USA as a form of family substitution has been replaced with an expectation of ongoing contact and openness between the adoptive and birth family. This can be conceptualised as an extended kinship network of adopted children, birth relatives and adopters. The analysis developed in this paper draws on data from a series of in-depth biographical interviews with adoptive parents aiming to explore post adoption ‘family relationships’ from the perspective of adoptive parents. The participants were 22 parents from 11 families who adopted children within the UK between 1977 and 2001. All of the adoptive parents, regardless of the year of adoption, type of adoption or contact arrangement, were highly sensitive to the potential continuing significance of birth relatives for adoptees. The article develops an analysis of definitions of ‘kinship’ created by adoptive parents in order to shape family relationships following adoption, particularly the processes through which birth relatives are rendered marginal or integral to adoptive family life. The findings highlight the complexities involved in the reshaping of family relationships between adoptees and birth relatives. The relevance of current adoption policy and professional practices to these processes are explored. |
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Format: |
article; |
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Topics: |
adopted children; adoption; adoptive parents; birth families; families; family relations; |
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Record ID: |
www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/profile.asp?guid=dfede34c-b066-4f78-bd5a-eaa9cc05ae3e |
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