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I ran across an interesting article today about the secrecy involved in some adoptions. Nowadays most adoption professionals recommend telling a child about his or her adoption as early as possible. In years past, adoptive parents would not tell the child of his or her adoption until they were “old enough to understand” creating a secret out of the child’s adoption and how that child became a member of his/her family.
The results of a new study support the theory that being open about adoption early in an adoptee’s life is the better way to go as opposed to adoptive parents who keep the adoption a secret and do not tell their children they are adopted till later in life. Although this study was conducted in Australia the results are still valid for adoptees anywhere.
The study was conducted by Nola Passmore at the University of Southern Queensland. The study is based on 144 adult adoptees that now range between the ages of eighteen to sixty six. The study provides evidence and support to the theory of telling children they were adopted from an early age.
According to the results of the study, adoptees who did not find out they were adopted until later in life were not as close to their adoptive parents as adoptees who knew they were adopted from an early age on. They also reported having issues with trust and betrayal.
Adoptees that were told they were adopted from an early age on reported being closer to their adoptive parents. Research from the study also showed that adoptees who were told about adoption early on in life felt that adoption was less of an issue for the adoptee as they felt that they always belonged with that family and made it all less confusing.
Honesty (from the beginning) is always the best policy.
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Related Articles:
Explaining Adoption to Your Child
How to Talk to Children About Adoption
