The Role of Adoption Communicative Openness in Information Seeking Among Adoptees From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

TLDR

The study examined whether adoptive parents’ communicative openness predicts adoptees’ information seeking from adolescence to emerging adulthood and assessed changes in information seeking intentions and behaviors across these life stages. Data were drawn from 119 infant‑placed adoptees and their adoptive mothers across Waves 2 (1996‑2000) and 3 (2005‑2008) of the Minnesota‑Texas Adoption Research Project. Adoptive mothers’ communicative openness was positively linked to adoptees’ information seeking in emerging adulthood, with 62.2% of adoptees increasing their seeking, 16% unchanged, and 22% decreasing; females were more likely to show greater increases, indicating that open family communication supports a dynamic information‑seeking process across life stages.

Abstract

Adoption Communicative Openness was examined as a predictor of information seeking from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a group of adoptees who did not have direct contact with birth relatives during adolescence. Changes in information seeking intentions and behaviors between adolescence and emerging adulthood were also examined. Data from 119 infant-placed adoptees and their adoptive mothers were used from Waves 2 (1996-2000) and 3 (2005-2008) of the Minnesota-Texas Adoption Research Project (Grotevant & McRoy, 1998). Adoptive mothers' Communicative Openness was positively associated with degree of information seeking in emerging adulthood. Degree of information seeking between adolescence (Wave 2) and emerging adulthood (Wave 3) increased for the majority of adoptees (62.2%). Approximately 16% of adoptees experienced no change in information seeking and 22% of adoptees experienced a decrease in information seeking. Females were more likely to exhibit a greater increase in information seeking change between Waves 2 and 3 and information seeking at Wave 3 than males. Results suggest that adoptee information seeking is a dynamic process that takes place over several life stages and that open communication about adoption within the adoptive family supports adoptee information seeking.