Open Adoption of Infants: Adoptive Parents' Perceptions of Advantages and Disadvantages

As the frequency of open adoptions of infants increases, furious debate continues between those who argue that open adoption is a grave mistake and those who assert that it is a long-overdue innovation. This article defines open adoption, summarizes the open adoption controversy, and presents a qualitative descriptive study of adoptive parents' reactions to the recent open adoptions of their infants. Findings indicate overwhelmingly positive feelings about open adoption and some issues and concerns unique to the open adoption experience. The article concludes that social workers involved in adoptions should move from their traditional stance in directing and defining the birthparent-adoptive parent relationship to one that facilitates greater individualization and self-determination among the members of the adoption triad.