Silverman P R, Campbell L, Patti P
Massachusetts General Hospital, Institute of Health Professions, Boston 02114.
Soc Work. 1994 Sep;39(5):542-9. doi: 10.1093/sw/39.5.542.
This article looks at the reactions of adoptive parents to reunions between their adopted children and the children's birth parents. The focus is on how adoptive parents feel the reunion affects the family's integrity. Three types of family responses are identified: (1) closed, (2) divided, and (3) open. Acceptance of the differences between families created by adoption of children and those created by childbirth was a factor in the families' openness. Closed families saw no difference, and reunion suggested to the adults that they had failed as parents. Parents in open families understood the difference in families, saw the children as separate, and felt no threat to their competence as parents. Families' need for boundaries is examined, and the way the concept of family is constructed is discussed. Implications for the practice of adoption are considered.
本文探讨了养父母对其领养子女与亲生父母团聚的反应。重点在于养父母如何看待这种团聚对家庭完整性的影响。确定了三种家庭反应类型：（1）封闭型，（2）分裂型，（3）开放型。接受因领养孩子而形成的家庭与自然生育形成的家庭之间的差异是家庭开放的一个因素。封闭型家庭认为没有差异，团聚让成年人觉得自己作为父母失败了。开放型家庭的父母理解家庭之间的差异，将孩子视为独立个体，并且不觉得自己作为父母的能力受到威胁。研究了家庭对界限的需求，并讨论了家庭概念的构建方式。还考虑了对领养实践的影响。
