Psychological Presence of Adult Adoptees: Exploring Birthmother Perspectives

Background and Purpose: Previous research has examined the birthmother’s perspective on the adopted child’s psychological presence (e.g. Fravel et al., 2000) and found that psychological presence is associated with birthmother’s satisfaction with the adoption arrangement. Little research, however, has examined how psychological presence evolves over time, as the adopted child reaches adulthood. Also, little is known about the impact of tech-mediated contact between birthmothers and adoptees, and how this form of communication may influence the psychological presence of the adoptee, from the birthmothers’ perspective.

The following research questions were used to investigate communication between birthmothers and adoptees, over 30 years post-placement:  

1. Is the adult adoptee on the birthmother’s heart or mind, and does this differ based on the level of openness in the adoption arrangement?
2. How does the role of technology influence the adult adoptee’s psychological presence in the birthmother’s life?

Methods: Adoptive families and birthmothers were recruited from private adoption agencies around the country to participate in the longitudinal (1984-2016) Minnesota /Texas Adoption Research Project (MTARP). All adoptions were voluntary, inracial, infant placements with varying levels of openness arrangements (confidential, mediated, and fully disclosed). The present study includes data from Wave 4 interviews (30 years post-placement) with 34 birthmothers (M_age = 48).

Psychological presence was measured through thematic coding of indicators, degree, and valance of psychological presence, based on previous research with birthmothers when the adoptee was still a child (Fravel et al., 2000). Transcripts were coded independently by two researchers. Direct contact was categorized as in-person visits, telephone calls, and writing letters. Tech-mediated contact included communication through social media, such as Facebook.

Results: In-depth qualitative coding of birthmother interviews revealed that adopted children continue to be psychologically present in their birthmother’s lives, even 30 years post-placement. The nature of adoptive kinship family dynamics and contact continues to evolve over time, with the majority of birthmothers in our sample now in direct contact with their placed children, even though some of the adoptions began as closed. The degree of psychological presence was highest among those who were involved in fully disclosed adoptions, which means that birthmothers who had direct contact with their child experienced a high level of symbolic presence of their child, in a way that would influence their thoughts and emotions. Additionally, the majority of birthmothers are now incorporating texting and Facebook into their communication with their adopted child (now adult). Tech-mediated contact was positively associated with high psychological presence. The birthmothers who did not currently have contact with their placed children reported lower levels of psychological presence.

Conclusions and Implications: These findings provide new perspectives on the under-studied population of birthmothers, by providing insight into experiences and psychological presence within the kinship network throughout the lifespan. Practitioners should be aware of tech-mediated contact as a potential source of contact that can impact psychological presence. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are provided.