The experience of parents in forming a relationship with their older adopted children from Russia or other former Soviet Union countries

This study explored the experience of parents in forming a relationship with an older child adopted from Russia or other former Soviet Union country. Thirteen parents shared, through in-depth interviews, their experience of developing a parentchild relationship. Analysis of the data revealed several themes in these parents descriptions of the process of developing a relationship: commitment at time of adoption, beliefs and strategies about relationship development, the need for a reciprocal connection, the need for physical intimacy, and the importance of perceived connecting factors. Parents indicated that communication problems presented challenges in their relationship building process. Behaviour problems also represented a particular difficulty, as some of the parents experienced them as distancing and distracting from the process of forming a relationship.