Support for Open Adoption Found in Current Research

The Pregnancy, Parenting & Adoption Program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc. offers the following open adoption research and information for birth parents and adoptive families who may be considering cooperative, open adoption.

There are many reasons to select an open adoption that can be found in the research conducted over the past six years.

1) Dr. Ruth McRoy of the University of Texas in Austin has reported that in their five year study of over 500 triad members, that children of open adoptions have a more positive image of their birth mother.

2) Adoptive parents with fully open adoptions are less fearful of the stability of their adoption, and more comfortable talking about adoption, than closed adoption parents. In an article published in "Family Process", a professional journal, the June 1994 issue (pp 141-142), it was reported from this same research by Dr. McRoy that:

"The strong general pattern is that parents in fully disclosed adoptions demonstrate higher degrees of empathy about adoption, talk about it more openly with their children, and are less fearful that the birth mother might try to reclaim her child than are parents in confidential adoptions. The sense of permanence in the relationship with their adopted child also followed this pattern..."

3) Dr. Marianne Berry reports from the California Longitudinal Study on Adoption (an ongoing study of 1300 people started in 1988) that children of open adoptions are reported to have fewer behavioral problems than children of closed adoptions.

4) Dr. Anu Sharma of the Search Institute in Minneapolis (a 35 year old non-profit family research center) reports that information issues are a major preoccupation for adolescent adoptees from closed adoptions. In asking open ended questions as to the adoption related issues that concerned them most, both adoptees and their parents listed the lack of information as issues that concerned them the most. In this study 65% of adoptees wanted to meet their birth mother.

5) All major national adoption conferences in the U.S. are presenting open adoption practice as the healthiest adoption method for the sake of the adoptee.

Go to the Pregnancy, Parenting, and Adoption program page

Page last updated: August 27, 2007