Openness in International Adoptions: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? The Experience of U.S. Families Who Adopted Children from the Marshall Islands

Authors

Jamie Wyatt, Brigham Young University
Jini Roby, Brigham Young University

Keywords

international adoptions, US families, adopted children, Marshall Islands

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Social Work

Abstract

Increased globalization of today’s society is bringing about dramatic change; the social sciences are not exempt from the results of these changes. Particular to this research study is the issue of international adoptions, particularly those which are characterized as open. “Open adoption” was defined in this study to be some form of continued contact between the biological and adoptive families following the finalization of an adoption. International adoptions are a relatively new concept in and of themselves; international adoption compounded with openness was largely unheard of until the recent onset of globalization when open adoptions increased in accessibility and desirability across country borders. Because this is a recent phenomenon, the research conducted is exploratory and designed to be a means of developing hypotheses as well as a basis for further research on the subject of international open adoptions.

Recommended Citation

Wyatt, Jamie and Roby, Jini (2013) "Openness in International Adoptions: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? The Experience of U.S. Families Who Adopted Children from the Marshall Islands," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 574.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/574