Adoption Sharing in Closed Adoption System The Experiences of Indian Adoptive Parents

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores the psycho-socio-cultural experiences of seven Indian adoptive parents towards adoption sharing in non-family domestic adoptions. The study, first of its kind in India to utilise interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore pre-during-post adoption phases, revealed adoption sharing as one of the themes analysed in post-adoption phase. The paper covers dilemmas in adoption sharing, couple differences over adoption communication, need based verses comfort based sharing with others, and anxieties related to search for birth family. The findings add to the under-researched area of adoption communication in Asian literature and provide recommendations for adopted families, social workers, policy and practice.