Redefining family relationships following adoption : adoptive parents' perspectives on the changing nature of kinship between adoptees and birth relatives

Jones, Christine and Hackett, Simon (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. ISSN 0045-3102 (https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr060)

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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.

ORCID iDs

Jones, Christine ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9466-5844 and Hackett, Simon;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:56507
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    1 March 2012
    Published
    10 May 2011
    Published Online
    Notes:This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in The British Journal of Social Work following peer review. The version of record Christine Jones and Simon Hackett, Redefining Family Relationships Following Adoption: Adoptive Parents' Perspectives on the Changing Nature of Kinship between Adoptees and Birth Relatives, Br J Soc Work (2012) 42 (2): 283-299 first published online May 10, 2011 doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcr060 is available online at: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/2/283.
    Subjects:Social Sciences > Social pathology. Social and public welfare
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Social Work and Social Policy > Social Work and Social Policy > Social Work
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:25 May 2016 09:42
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 11:13
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/56507
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