Last updated/verified: December 21, 2005

Adoption Reunion Research and Study Birthparent Questionnaire

You can read the questionnaires, but any responses you make will not be recorded. This page is the birthparent questionnaire. You may view the adoptee questionnaire at: Adoptee Questionnaire.

The results have been completed and may be found at: Project Summary, as of February 2000.

For more information on the project see: Senior Research Project.

This research is only for reunited birthparents and adult adoptees of stranger adoptions, including those who hold more than one position in the adoption triad. To keep from constructing complex questions the questionnaire is divided between adoptees and birthparents. The questionnaires differ in only that the questions are asked from the appropriate perspective, and not in the intent of the questions. There is one questionnaire for adoptees, and one for birthparents. If you have more than one position in the triad, please, submit separate questionnaires. One questionnaire should represent one position in the triad and one reunion. This is the birthparent questionnaire it concerns your reunion with a child you lost to adoption. If you have had more than one reunion, you may complete this online questionnaire more than one time. If you are an adoptee, you can find the adoptee questionnaire at: Adoptee Questionnaire. If you would rather complete a paper copy of this questionnaire you may print a copy of it here: Print Copy.

Individual questionnaires will not be viewed by anyone other than the researcher and George Fox University faculty advisors on this project. If you want a summary of this research, you may request a copy at the end of this questionnaire.

Instructions: Answer all of the questions. Very few of the questions will not apply to you, when they do not apply, chose N/A. The choices may not exactly represent your feelings, but choose the response closest to your feeling. Some of the questions may seem redundant. However, in the test questionnaire, people felt asking the question in one way was not adequate. There is a place at the end of the questionnaire for additional comments.

Measuring satisfaction: What is your satisfaction level? If you feel you are satisfied, you are satisfied, regardless of what others tell you. Do not compare your level of feelings to other people's level of feelings. Do not measure your reunion against another's. This questionnaire is about you. We want to know how you feel.

Definitions: Definitions of terms used in this survey, as those terms apply to this research. These definitions are not necessarily the definitions generally used in the field of adoption, or by the general public.

Adult Adoptee: A person eighteen years of age and older who was adopted as an infant or toddler.

Birthfamily, birth-aunt, birth-sibling, etc.: A person who is related to the adoptee through genetics.

Birthfather: A male whose sperm was the genetic material for the adoptee, regardless of legal status to him or her. (Please do not be offended by the cold-scientific definition.)

Birthmother: A female whose egg was the genetic material for the adoptee, and who gave birth to him or her. (Please do not be offended by the cold-scientific definition.)

Emotional support group: A support group focusing on the emotional aspects of adoption search, reunion, and reconciliation. This type of group meeting does not involve search assistance.

Intermediary search: (a.k.a. active reunion registry) A search where the person doing the work is not the person desiring a reunion with an unknown party to the adoption. The intermediary is the one who makes the initial contact and requests permission for their identity to be disclosed to the searcher. If permission is refused, the actual searcher does not receive identifying information.

Reunion: The initial contacts between an adoptee and his or her birthfamily.

Reunion registry: there are two types of reunion registries, active and passive. An active registry is also known as an intermediary search. See intermediary search definition above. A passive registry is a depository where parties to an adoption can sign-up to have contact with their counterpart in adoption. Reunion registries are run by adoption agencies, state agencies, and volunteer adoption groups.

Search consultant: A person who will do most of the research for the searcher. Usually fee paid.

Search and support group: A support group focusing on the search aspects of adoption search and reunion. This group may have additional meetings for emotional support, but those meetings are not included in this definition.

Self-directed search: A search where the person desiring a reunion is doing most of the research is the searcher him or herself.

Stranger adoption: An adoption of an infant or toddler by adults who are not related to him or her by genetics or marriage. (The families may have known of each other at the time of the adoption, but subsequent to the adoption there was no contact until many years later.) Other types of adoptions, notincluded in this research, are stepparent adoptions, grandparent adoptions,or an aunt or uncle adopting a child related to them.

Section I:

1. I am a/n (Check all that apply.)
  Birthmother     Birthfather   Adoptee   Adoptive parent

2. This is the birthparent questionnaire; it is for the reunion with my surrendered child.
  True   Not true -- If not true, you need to go to the adoptee questionnaire.

3. I am the birthparent of child(ren) lost to adoption. (Fill-in the blank.)

4. I have had reunion(s) with child(ren) lost to adoption. (Fill-in the blank.)

5. I am submitting questionnaires representing my reunion(s). (Fill-in the blank.)

6. This is questionnaire of . (Fill-in the blanks.)

7. At the time of the reunion, my child was age: . (Fill-in the blank.)

8. The gender of my child is:   Male   Female

9. My child was born in: state, country.

10. Since the first contact with my surrendered child, we have been reunited for:
  months and years. (Fill-in the blanks.)

11. Were you told your baby died at birth?
  Yes   No

12. Were you aware you were a birthfather?
  Not applicable   Yes   No   I had an idea, but was not sure

13. Did you search for your surrendered child, but found s/he had died before finding him or her? (If yes, skip Section II concerning a reunion with your child. Go to Section III for a reunion with other birthfamily members.)
  Yes   No

Section II: Birthparent and Adoptee Reunion

14. Has your child died since finding him or her? (If yes, complete this section of the questionnaire for your feelings and relationship before his or her death.)
  Yes   No

15. My reunion with my child involves:
  only letters letters and phone calls letters, phone calls, and in-person meetings no contact Select One

16. My child . . .
  agreed to meet me, and we continue to have contact. agreed to meet me once, then refused to have any additional contact. refused to have contact with me at first, but eventually we did. had contact with me for a while, then s/he broke it off. had contact with me for a while, but then I broke it off. Select One

Section III: Birthparent and Grandchild(ren) Reunion

31. I have grandchild(ren) living through this adoptee. (Fill-in the blank--If none, go to Section IV.)

Section IV: Overall Feelings about Reunion

58. Overall, how satisfied are you with your reunion? (Check one.)
  very satisfied.   satisfied.   dissatisfied.   very dissatisfied.

59. Overall, how successful is your reunion? (Check one.)
  very successful.   successful.   unsuccessful.   very unsuccessful.

60. Assuming you expected to receive something good from search and/or reunion, what did you receive? (Select the one that most accurately describes your feelings.)
  I received much more than I expected. I received more than I expected. I received about what I expected. I received less than I expected. I received much less than I expected. Select One

Section V: Search and Support Group Activities

61. Search and/or reunion process. (Select the one that most accurately describe your search activity.)   I did a self-directed search for and found my child. I did not actively search, but was found by my child. I did not actively search, but was reunited by a registry. (No activities by the registrar.) I hired an independent searcher to find my child. (Does not exclude some self-directed searching.) I hired a "confidential intermediary" to find my child. (The intermediary had to get permission before releasing identifying information.) I searched, but was reunited through a registry. Select One - Click here

62. The person who made the initial contact in my reunion was:
  myself. my child. an intermediary. adoption agency representative. an attorney. a doctor. a relative. a friend. Select One

63. The initial contact was by: (Check one.)
  letter   phone   in person

64. I searched for: (Check one.)
  N/A   0-5 mos.   6-11 mos.   1-3 years   more than 3 years

65. Before my reunion, I read adoption support books: (Check one.)
  None   1-2   3-6   more than 7

66. After my reunion, I read adoption support books: (Check one.)
  None   1-2   3-6   more than 7

74. If you participated in adoption search or emotional support groups, please provide the name of the group and location:

Section VI: Other Adoption Activities

75. Since my reunion, I have . . . (Check all that apply.)
  written at least one letter to a newspaper, magazine, or editor concerning adoption issues.
  written at least one letter to a legislator concerning adoption issues.
  testified at least once before a legislature concerning adoption issues.
  participated in at least one public demonstration concerning adoption issues.
  none of these

76. Since my reunion, I am (was) . . . (Check all that apply.)
  a volunteer for a search and/or support group.
  a search consultant.
  involved in arranging adoptions.
  none of these

77. Since my reunion, I returned to college to study . . . (Check all that apply.)
  social sciences.
  law.
  other major. Please specify: .
  not applicable

78. I am currently a . . . (Check all that apply.)
  social worker.
  licensed counselor.
  psychologist/psychiatrist.
  lawyer.
  none of these

Section VII: About you

79. My current age is: (Fill-in the blank.)

80. At the time I was reunited I was:
  Never married Married Divorced/Separated Widowed Select One

81. At the time you were reunited did you have other children born to you who were not adopted?
  Yes   No

82. At the time you were reunited had you adopted children?
  Yes   No

83. At the time you were reunited did you have stepchildren?
  Yes   No

You are not required to give your name and street address, but an email address is necessary for the form to process the responses properly.

Would you like a summary of the research project when completed?
  Yes   No

Your name:

Your email address:

Your phone number (with country, city, area codes):

Address:
City/Town:	State/Prov.: Post./Zip Code:
Country:

Section VIII - Optional Comments: Explanation of responses, questions that were not asked, anything you feel the questionnaire left out that you want to include. (Open question)

Please note: You must click the Submit Responses button for your questionnaire to be sent. It can take a moment or two for the form to process and take you to the next page. Please be patient. If you do not get an email in about thirty minutes with your responses to this questionnaire, it was not received. Please, try again.

Thank you,

Ginni D Snodgrass

Ginni D Snodgrass
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