Adolescent Search for Birthparents: Who Moves Forward?

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 a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adolescent research 2004-01, Vol.19 (1), p.132-151
Main Authors: Wrobel, Gretchen Miller, Grotevant, Harold D., McRoy, Ruth G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Adoption
Age Differences
Behavior
Behavior Problems
Families & family life
Family Relationship
Gender Differences
Information Seeking
Parents
Parents & parenting
Psychological Patterns
Search Strategies
Teenagers
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Summary: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. Participants in the study included 93 adolescents whose contact with birthparents ranged from no contact or information about birthparents to those who had some information but no direct contact with birthparents. Adolescents who indicated no desire to search for their birthparents and those who indicated a desire to search or had searched were included in the study. Older adolescents who experienced some openness in their adoption, were the least satisfied with that adoptive openness, and were preoccupied with their adoptive status were most likely to search. Search behavior was not related to family functioning or adolescent problem behavior.
ISSN:0743-5584
1552-6895
DOI:10.1177/0743558403258125