Female adoptees' perceptions of contact with their birth fathers: satisfactions and dissatisfactions with the process

Abstract

Qualitative data were analyzed to identify factors associated with adoptees' satisfactions or dissatisfactions in their contact experiences with their birth fathers. Participants were 17 women who had been adopted prior to 2 years of age and had subsequently met their birth fathers. All women completed a questionnaire and 7 also took part in a semistructured interview. Four main themes were identified that affected satisfaction with contact: birth fathers' attributes and behavior, adoptees' attributes (e.g., expectations), behavior of others (e.g., birth mother, birth father's family, and adoptive parents), and circumstances of the conception and relinquishment. The implications of these findings for members of the adoption triangle and those providing postadoption services are discussed.