Title

Birth Parents in Adoption: Research, Practice, and Counseling Psychology

Authors

Amanda Baden, Montclair State UniversityFollow
Mary O'Leary Wiley, Independent PracticeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 1-2005

Journal / Book Title

The Counseling Psychologist

Abstract

This article addresses birth parents in the adoption triad by reviewing and integrating both the clinical and empirical literature from a number of professional disciplines with practice case studies. This review includes literature on the decision to relinquish one’s child for adoption, the early postrelinquishment period, and the effects throughout the lifespan on birth parents. Clinical symptoms for birth parents include unresolved grief, isolation, difficulty with future relationships, and trauma. Some recent research has found that some birth mothers who relinquish tend to fare comparably to those who do not relinquish on external criteria of well-being (e.g., high school graduation rates). However, there appear to be serious long-term psychological consequences of relinquishment. Limitations of the current literature are presented, and recommendations for practice and research are offered.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000004265961

Montclair State University Digital Commons Citation

Baden, Amanda and Wiley, Mary O'Leary, "Birth Parents in Adoption: Research, Practice, and Counseling Psychology" (2005). Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works. 90.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/counseling-facpubs/90

Published Citation

Wiley, Mary O’Leary, and Amanda L. Baden. "Birth parents in adoption: Research, practice, and counseling psychology." The Counseling Psychologist 33, no. 1 (2005): 13-50.