Adoption, Openness in

Openness arrangements describe possibilities for contact and information sharing between birth and adoptive families. Contact can involve different members of the adoptive kinship network, which includes the adoptee, birth family, and adoptive family members; and contact can vary in frequency and type (e.g., in-person visits, phone calls, letters, e-mails, texts, social media contacts, and/or gifts). There have been growing trends toward greater openness in adoption over the past several decades in the United States, particularly with domestic adoptions.

While sparse research has examined this topic among nonheterosexual adoptive parents, broader literature about adoption has demonstrated that options for openness between birth and adoptive families are generally linked with positive outcomes for adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents. Specifically, among lesbian and gay adoptive parents, there have ...