Understanding how adults adopted in England pre-1989 experience parenthood
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11941124 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tamryn Stevens (0009-0007-4857-3413, University of Northumbria, UK, corresponding author), Mark Mo (0000-0002-5994-2540, Northumbria University), Mark Moss (University of Northumbria, UK) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 304-322 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Adoption & Fostering (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-5759 • E-ISSN: 1740-469X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03085759261421601 |
| OpenAlex | W7146937226 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 45 |
Adoption has a lifelong impact, with events such as parenthood reactivating adoption-related thoughts and feelings. English adoption generally falls into two eras: pre-1980s adoptions, typically secretive infant relinquishment due to societal views on illegitimacy and interracial relationships, and post-1980s adoptions, involving older children often removed due to abuse or neglect. This study explores how adults adopted before 1989, potentially raised with limited biographical and communicative openness as well as less post-adoption support, experience parenthood, a life stage affecting identity, mental health and relationships, areas notably complex for adoptees. Four English adult adoptees (two men and two women, aged 40–50), adopted domestically before 18 months old (three at birth), with two or more children predominantly in their teens and 20s participated in semi-structured interviews covering their parenthood journey. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed three themes: ‘Parenthood is an awakening’; ‘Adoption echoes on’; and ‘Moving forwards’. Communicative openness within the adoptive family had lasting effects on adoptees’ own parenting communication. Recommendations include training adoptive parents on adoption’s lifelong impact and promoting open and supportive communication with adoptees. Targeted psychosocial support for adoptees who become parents is also advised
Interpretative phenomenological analysis · Life course approach · Mental health · Openness to experience · Phenomenology (philosophy · Psychosocial · Child Welfare and Adoption · Children's Rights and Participation · Reproductive Health and Technologies
Basic Principles of Transcription
Children's understanding of adoption
Interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
Korean Adoptees as Parents
Intergenerational transmission of parenting
Ethnic Identity, Bicultural Identity Integration, and Psychological Well-Being Among Transracial Adoptees
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Mental health and psychological adjustment in adults who were adopted during their childhood
Parenting concepts and experiences of adults abandoned as infants
Openness in adoption
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Communicative Openness in Adoption, Knowledge of Culture of Origin, and Adoption Identity in Adolescents Adopted From Romania
Coming to Terms with Adoption
Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents
Communicative Openness About Adoption and Interest in Contact in a Sample of Domestic and Intercountry Adolescent Adoptees
Adoption and Identity
Adopted Women Give Birth
Adoption and the rights of children in the UK
The birth fathers of adopted children
Change and Continuity
Being adopted and being a mother
Creating a New Narrative
When people adopted from severely depriving institutions become parents
How do adopted adults see the significance of adoption and being a parent in their life stories? A narrative analysis of 40 life story interviews with male and female adoptees
Hidden among the hidden
Adoptive identity and adjustment from adolescence to emerging adulthood
Critical Realism, Dialectics, and Qualitative Research Methods
Delaying Adoption Disclosure
Family Structural Openness and Communication Openness as Predictors in the Adjustmentof Adopted Children
Adoptive Identity
Refusal versus massive investment
Comparison of adoptees' and nonadoptees' experience of parenthood and mediating role of dyadic coping
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |