ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN OPENNESS IN ADOPTION AND ADOPTEE LIFE SATISFACTION: A COMPARISON OF TRANSRACIAL AND SAME-RACE ADOPTIONS

Abstract

While it is commonly presumed that adoption results in the formation of a loving family, it can also come with inherent losses to both the families and adoptees involved. In addition to a potential lack of knowledge about an adoptee’s origins, the pairing of children and parents of different races, through transracial adoption, may add an additional layer of complexity. Structural openness, or the communication between an adoptee and their birth parents, may be an avenue for adoptees to bridge gaps in their knowledge and forage connections with their past. The present research investigates the associations between the level of openness and life satisfaction for both transracial and same race adoptee adolescents from the Early Growth and Development Study. From the current study, findings indicated that transracial and same race adoptees did not differ significantly in their level of openness, satisfaction with their adoption’s openness, life satisfaction, or the strength of their family relationships. Despite this, the findings suggest that there may be a trend toward more openness in transracial adoptions being associated with higher adoptee life satisfaction and higher satisfaction with their adoption’s openness, in comparison to same race adoptees. The present study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the effects of structural openness, while providing insights about ways to support adoptees and their families in coping with adoption related losses.