Study looks at reunion of adoptees with fathers

With Fathers Day only days away University of Southern Queensland (USQ) academic Nola Passmore is calling on birthfathers of adopted children to volunteer to be part of a study into their experiences.

The call for birthfathers comes after Dr Passmore released the results of a previous study conducted with Griffith University's Heather Chipuer which identified factors that promote and hinder successful reunions from the adoptees' perspective.

A Senior Lecturer in Psychology at USQ Dr Passmore is conducting the new study with birthfather and board member of the adoption support group Vanish Inc. Gary Coles.

To be eligible men have to be the biological father of a child who was given up for adoption before they were two years of age.

Dr Passmore said the original study was conducted in an effort to bridge the information gap on birthfather research.

'Birthfathers mean those who are technically the father but didn't raise their children.

'When it comes to adoption research about birthfathers there is a real hole in the literature.

'In some cases they have been reunited with their children, some successfully, some unsuccessfully and in some cases fathers didn't even know there had been a baby.'

The findings indicated factors facilitating successful reunions included the birthfather having a similar personality to the adoptee; being welcoming and accepting of the adoptee; engaging in open and honest communication; speaking well of the birthmother and the adoptee not having high expectations.

Factors inhibiting successful reunions included the birthfather having a different personality to the adoptee; not being welcoming or accepting of the adoptee; being secretive or telling lies; having treated the birthmother poorly and other people not being supportive of the reunion.

Dr Passmore said she hopes to use the research to assist people who are planning reunions with birthfathers.

'It's about helping all members of the adoption triangle with reunions. People might not know whether to contact their birthfather or they might think he doesn't care or think he ran off. That might have been the case but it might not as well.

'They may not have had a choice in whether the baby was adopted, if he was young or if his parents or her parents made the decision.

'The more information we can find the more it can help people with the reunions and having good outcomes of the reunion. Or if it doesn't go so well then people can understand more, learn from it and be OK with it.'

Birthfathers interested in participating in the new study can contact Dr Passmore on (07) 4631 1683 or email nolapass@usq.edu.au to find out more.

Media Contact: Jane Urquhart USQ Media +61 7 4631 2559