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Redefining Family Relationships Following Adoption: Adoptive Parents' Perspectives on the Changing Nature of Kinship between Adoptees and Birth Relatives

Jones, C.; Hackett., S.

Redefining Family Relationships Following Adoption: Adoptive Parents' Perspectives on the Changing Nature of Kinship between Adoptees and Birth Relatives Thumbnail


Authors

C. Jones



Abstract

Contemporary child adoption in the UK and USA has been conceptualised as an extended kinship network of adopted children, birth relatives and adopters (Reitz and Watson, 1992; Grotevant and McRoy, 1998). This contrasts sharply with the traditional model of adoption as a form of family substitution. Yet, such a reconceptualisation raises many questions about the meaning of kinship for those involved. This paper draws on data from a series of biographical interviews with twenty-two parents who adopted children within the UK over a twenty-four-year period in order to explore post adoption ‘family relationships’ from the perspective of adoptive parents. It 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 relevance of current adoption policy and professional practices to these processes are explored.

Citation

Jones, C., & Hackett., S. (2012). Redefining Family Relationships Following Adoption: Adoptive Parents' Perspectives on the Changing Nature of Kinship between Adoptees and Birth Relatives. The British Journal of Social Work, 42(2), 283-299. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr060

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2012
Deposit Date May 11, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal British Journal of Social Work
Print ISSN 0045-3102
Electronic ISSN 1468-263X
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 42
Issue 2
Pages 283-299
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr060
Keywords Adoption, Openess, Kinship.

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Copyright Statement
This is a pre-copy-editing author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in British journal of social work following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Jones, C. and Hackett, S. (2012) 'Redefining family relationships following adoption : adoptive parents' perspectives on the changing nature of kinship between adoptees and birth relatives.', British journal of social work., 42 (2). pp. 283-299 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr060




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