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Abstract
Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the present study addressed the question: What discourses interpenetrate to reflect dialectical unity as parents communicate about their child's adoption? Interviews with 40 parents across 31 visibly adoptive families—families with an obvious lack of biological connection—highlighted four instances of dialectical unity resulting from the following discursive struggles: (a) pride and imperfection; (b) love, constraint, and sacrifice; (c) difference, pride, and enrichment; and (d) legitimacy, expansion, similarity, and difference. Each struggle contains seemingly disparate discourses that, in combination, contribute to how parents discursively make sense of adoption. Practical implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers, educators, and members of visibly adoptive families.
Acknowledgements
This article grew out of the first author's dissertation, directed by Dr. Dawn O. Braithwaite at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This research was partly funded by the Warren F. and Edith R. Day Dissertation Fellowship, awarded by Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A previous version of this article was presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association in San Diego, California in November 2008.
Notes
1. All names reflect pseudonyms.
2. Parenthetical citations include interview and line numbers.