Birth Fathers' Lives after Adoption

Abstract

While considerable research has been carried out on the experiences of birth mothers in adoption, birth fathers remain a relatively neglected group. As part of an ongoing project to redress the balance, Gary Clapton explores the life course of a group of 30 birth fathers ranging in age from 35 to late 60s. Beginning with the immediate post-adoption period, he traces the men's early feelings of grief and loss, and in a minority of cases, alleged indifference, through to a spectrum of emotions spanning curiosity, concern, regret and ‘connectedness’. Clapton points to similarities with the reported experiences of birth mothers, including a continuing sense of parenthood, and highlights the need to rethink notions of fatherhood. He calls for a greater focus on birth fathers in adoption, not only for their sakes but in the direct interests of the adopted person seeking knowledge of their birth family history.