Parents who wait: acknowledging the support needs and vulnerabilities of approved adopters during their wait to become adoptive parents

Journal article


Rogers, R. 2017. Parents who wait: acknowledging the support needs and vulnerabilities of approved adopters during their wait to become adoptive parents. Child & Family Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12417
AuthorsRogers, R.
Abstract

There is a significant amount of existing research exploring adoption policies, processes, and the experiences and safeguarding of children. However, although much research has children at the focus, little research has been conducted into the experiences of approved and waiting adopters. Where research has included adopters, focus tends to be on how adopters can aid an adoptive placement and what support they can provide to an adoptive child. In this article, the experiences of approved and waiting adopters are at the centre.

This article reports on a digital ethnographic research project, which used unobtrusive methods to conduct a thematic analysis of over 600 posts made by waiting adopters on publically available UK online adoption forums in 2015. Online posts discussed the perceived over‐recruitment of adopters; the decision‐making behind adopters' initial preferences; and the negative emotional effects of the waiting period following approval. This article argues that more consideration needs to be given to the needs of and support for approved adopters whilst they wait for an adoptive child.

Year2017
JournalChild & Family Social Work
PublisherWiley
ISSN1356-7500
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12417
Publication dates
Online21 Nov 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited23 Nov 2017
Accepted13 Nov 2017
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
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