Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Communication and Storytelling Studies
Date of Award
12-2025
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Christine Anzur
Committee Members
Trena Paulus, Brianna Cusanna
Abstract
Adoption communicative openness (ACO) involves dialogue between adoptive parents and their adopted children about adoption-related issues. Through this communication, parents share information about birth families and address adoptees questions to support psychological well-being. Although ACO benefits adoptees, research rarely examines how adoptive parents themselves practice and experience openness. This study explores how adoptive parents discuss ACO with one another on the r/AdoptiveParents subreddit. Using qualitative discourse analysis, it examines how parents describe their challenges, and success surrounding communication openness. The analysis highlights parent’s concerns about when and how to disclose adoption information and the uncertainty that shapes their communication choices. Findings reveal that online peer discussions serve as informal learning spaces where parents negotiate meanings of openness and share strategies for navigating it. This research offers insight into how adoptive parents enact ACO, fostering healthier family relationships and supporting adoptees’ social and psychological well-being.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Baidoo, Hannah Araba, "Adoptive Parents use of Social Media to Discuss Adoption Communicative Openness Adoption" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4615. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4615
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
