It seems reasonable to suppose that the bitterness of an adversarial contest and the granting of an order to which birth parents are strongly opposed are unlikely to offer a foundation for successful future contact. Murray Ryburn reports on the findings of a study of contact after contested adoptions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BerridgeDCleaverH, Foster home breakdown, Blackwell, 1986.
2.
BerryM, ‘Adoptive parents perceptions of, and comfort with, open adoption’, Child Welfare, 723,231–253, 1993.
3.
CharlesMRashidSThoburnJ, ‘Research on permanent family placement of black children and those from minority ethnic groups’, Adoption and Fostering, 162, 3–4, 1992.
4.
DOH/Welsh Office, Review of adoption law: report to ministers of an inter-departmental working group, DOH/Welsh Office, 1992.
5.
DOH/Welsh Office/Home Office/Lord Chancellor's Department, Adoption: the future, Cm 2288, HMSO, 1993.
6.
FratterJ, Family placement and access: achieving permanency for children in contact with birth parents, Barnardos, 1989.
7.
FratterJRoweJSapsfordDThoburnJ, Permanent family placement: a decade of experience, BAAF, 1991.
8.
FriskM, ‘Identity problems and confused conceptions of the genetic ego in adopted children during adolescence’, Acta Paedo Psychiatrica, 31, 6–12, 1964.
9.
IwanekM, ‘A study of open adoption’, 14 Emerson Street, Petone, Wellington, New Zealand, Unpublished, 1987.
10.
KayeKWarrenS, ‘Discourse about adoption in adoptive families’, Journal of Family Psychology, 4, 406–33, 1988.
11.
KirkD, Shared fate: a theory of adoption and mental health, Free Press, 1964.
12.
KirkD, Adoptive kinship: a modern institution in need of reform, Butterworths, 1981.
13.
LambertLBuistMTriseliotisJHillM, Freeing children for Adoption, BAAF, 1990.
14.
McRoyR, ‘American experience and research on openness’, Adoption and Fostering, 154, 99–110, 1991.
15.
McWhinnieA, Adopted children: how they grew up, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967.
16.
MurchMLoweNBorkowskiMCopnerRGriewK, Pathways to adoption research project, University of Bristol/DoH, 1993.
17.
RaynorL, The adopted child comes of age, Allen and Unwin, 1980.
18.
RoweJCainHHundlebyMKeaneA, Long term foster care, BAAF, 1984.
19.
RyburnM, ‘Advertising for permanent placements’, Adoption and Fostering, 162, 8–15, 1992.
20.
RyburnM, Open adoption: research, theory and practice, Gower, 1994a.
21.
RyburnM, ‘Contested adoptions in context’ in RyburnM (ed), Contested adoptions: research, law, policy and practice, Gower/Arena, 1–6, 1994b.
22.
TrentJ, Homeward bound, Barnardos, 1989.
23.
TriseliotisJ, In search of origins, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973.
24.
TriseliotisJ, ‘Identity and security in long term fostering and adoption’, Adoption and Fostering, 71, 22–31, 1983.
25.
TriseliotisJ, ‘Open adoption — the evidence examined’ in AdcockMKaniukJWhiteR (eds), Exploring openness in adoption, Significant Publications, 37–56, 1993.
