Adoptive Parent Advice: Challenges, Strategies, and Insights for Future Adoptive Parents

This qualitative study examines the advice from 2,131 adoptive parent responses, answering: "What do you believe is important for future adoptive parents to know?" An inductive thematic analysis yielded the following major findings: Various reasons adoption is challenging, strategies to confront challenges, and how adoption is worth the challenges. Parents describe adoption as difficult because (a) parents have unmet expectations, (b) it is time-consuming, (c) emotionally taxing, (d) there are limited resources, and (e) adopted children have behavioral challenges. Strategies for responding to challenges include (a) educating oneself, (b) establishing support, and (c) being patient. These findings suggest there are many absences in information for prospective adoptive parents, indicating the need for increased training, education, and knowledge dissemination. Implications for adoptive parents are delineated.