The experience of Australian relinquishing mothers in open adoption : contact, psychological adjustment and grief

This study examined relinquishing mothers experiences in open adoption in the state of Victoria, Australia. The quantitative study aimed to document the actual practice\ud of contact, and to examine the associations between contact and psychological adjustment and grief of relinquishing mothers. The study consisted of 30 participants who completed a questionnaire, which contained questions relating to the adoption and subsequent contact, satisfaction with contact, psychological adjustment measures\ud of the GHQ, Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Delighted-Terrible scale, and grief measures of the Impact of Event Scale and an adapted version of the Grief Experience\ud Inventory. Results revealed a range of type and frequency of contact experiences. Contact was not associated with psychological adjustment and grief as expected, however, a negative association was found between frequency of contact and satisfaction with contact. The co-variates of age of the mother, support at the time of the relinquishment and choice in the relinquishment decision were associated with\ud psychological adjustment and grief. Post hoc analyses revealed guilt was negatively associated with psychological adjustment. Results are interpreted in relation to the\ud minimal previous research in the field, theory and practice. Recommendations for future research are also included