The transition to adoptive parenthood: A pilot study of parents adopting in Ontario, Canada

Research indicates that the transition to adoptive parenthood can be challenging for many adoptive parents, but that the provision of post-placement services may mitigate these challenges. However, little is known about the specific post-placement service needs of adoptive parents during this transition. This paper describes a pilot project from Ontario, Canada which sought to explore the support needs of adoptive parents in the post-placement period. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine newly placed adoptive parents. Eight of the nine participants were married; two had adopted internationally, five had adopted through the public system in Ontario and the remaining participant utilized private adoption. Through our analysis of the data, we identified two meta-themes: a) challenges and b) facilitators accompanying the transition to adoptive parenthood. Grounded theory methodology was used to develop these themes into a conceptual framework describing the transition to adoptive parenthood. This framework posits that each parent negotiates a particular set of challenges and facilitators associated with their specific adoption experience. In future, this framework can become a tool to assist adoptive parents and practitioners to proactively identify and address potential challenges during the transition to parenthood.