Tech‐Mediated and Traditional Communication Modes in Adult Adoptees' Contact With Birth Parents

• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Author: Krystal K. Cashen,Harold D. Grotevant,Adeline Wyman Battalen,Christina M. Sellers,Ruth G. McRoy
• Date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12477

K K. C H D. GUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst

A W B, C M. S,  R G. MRBoston College

Tech-Mediated and Traditional Communication

Modes in Adult Adoptees’ Contact With

Birth Parents

Objective: To understand how adult adoptees

use traditional and tech-mediated modes of

communication in contact with birth parents.

To examine associations between desire for

increased use of both modes and quality of

relationship.

Background: As tech-mediated modes of com-

munication become more commonplace, it is

important to understand their implications for

family relationship quality. Limited research

has examined the use of tech-mediated modes

of communication between adult adoptees and

birth parents.

Method: Participants (Mage =31years)were

adopted as infants (N=90). Participants

reported their current and desired future use

of traditional and tech-mediated communica-

tion modes and their satisfaction with contact,

current closeness, desired future closeness, and

psychological presence of birth parents.

Results: Those with current contact reported

using both traditional and tech-mediated modes

of communication. Desired increase of tradi-

tional modes was associated with greater psy-

chological presenceand desired future closeness

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University

of Massachusetts Amherst, 135 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA

01003 (kcashen@umass.edu).

Key Words: adoption, technology & families, adult develop-

ment, family relationships, family communication & interac-

tion.

with birth mothers, while both traditional and

tech-mediated were associated with these out-

comes for birth fathers.

Conclusion: Adult adoptees use both tradi-

tional and tech-mediated modes of communi-

cation with their birth parents. However, these

modes may play distinct roles in maintaining

close relationships with birth parents.

Implications: Family professionals should

consider the unique roles traditional and

tech-mediated modes of communication may

play when supporting adult adoptees in contact

with birth relatives.

Over the past decade, technology as a form

of communication has become increasingly

common. Given the increasing proliferation of

tech-mediated modes of communication (i.e.,

texting, social media), it is important to under-

stand how these communication modes may be

associated with the quality of family relation-

ships. Although family researchers have begun

to examine the implications of tech-mediated

communication in traditional family struc-

tures (e.g., Connell & Dworkin, 2012; Ramsey

et al., 2013), little research has examined these

implications in nontraditional families, such as

adoptive families. The present study aims to

investigate how adult adoptees use traditional

and tech-mediated modes of communication in

their contact with their birth mothers and birth

120Family Relations 70 (February 2021): 120–129

DOI:10.1111/fare.12477