ABSTRACT
This study aims to shed light on how LGBTQ+ adoptive parents communicate adoption with their children. A total of 163 adoptive parents identifying as sexual minority individuals (M
age = 45.29 years) participated in this qualitative study. They were adoptive parents of children aged between 4 and 18 years (M
age = 10.20 years) living in Europe and the United States. Participants responded to an open-ended survey question about how they communicated adoption to their children. Responses were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s Thematic Analysis. Five main themes emerged: (1) how parents share children’s pre-adoption histories (‘He was in the belly of a mom who couldn’t take care of him’); (2) parents’ assumptions about what children know and understand about adoption (‘We didn’t have to explain much because we are two dads’); (3) external influences on adoption communication (‘I haven’t said anything. It’s a process. My son knows his birth mom and has always been in contact with her’); (4) honesty and openness as an evolving process in adoption communication (‘We have talked about it with him in various ways during his life. We strive to be open and transparent with him’); (5) adoption communication as a means to preserve origins and foster belonging (‘We try to tell the truth while making 1st parents not sound like bad people’). These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of adoption communication as a central socialization process in adoptive families with sexual minority parents.