Editing Adoption (section)

===Effects on the original parents===
Several factors affect the decision to release or raise the child. White adolescents tend to give up their babies to non-relatives, whereas black adolescents are more likely to receive support from their own community in raising the child and also in the form of informal adoption by relatives.<ref>Furstenburg, F.F. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1985). Teenage childbearing: Causes, consequences, and remedies. In L. Aiken and D. Mechanic (Eds.), Applications of social science to clinical medicine and health policy (pp. 307–334). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.</ref> Studies by Leynes and by Festinger and Young, Berkman, and Rehr found that, for pregnant adolescents, the decision to release the child for adoption depended on the attitude toward adoption held by the adolescent's mother.<ref>as cited in {{cite journal | last1 = Kallen | first1 = D.J. | last2 = Griffore | first2 = R.J. | last3 = Popovich | first3 = S. | last4 = Powell | first4 = V. | year = 1990 | title = Adolescent mothers and their mothers view adoption | journal = Family Relations | volume = 39 | issue = 3| pages = 311–316 | doi=10.2307/584877| jstor = 584877 }}</ref> Another study found that pregnant adolescents whose mothers had a higher level of education were more likely to release their babies for adoption. Research suggests that women who choose to release their babies for adoption are more likely to be younger, enrolled in school, and have lived in a two-parent household at age 10, than those who kept and raised their babies.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Donnelly | first1 = B.W. | last2 = Voydanoff | first2 = P. | year = 1996 | title = Parenting versus placing for adoption: Consequences for adolescent mothers | journal = Family Relations | volume = 45 | issue = 4| pages = 427–434 | doi=10.2307/585172| jstor = 585172 }}</ref>

There is limited research on the consequences of adoption for the original parents, and the findings have been mixed. One study found that those who released their babies for adoption were less comfortable with their decision than those who kept their babies. However, levels of comfort over both groups were high, and those who released their child were similar to those who kept their child in ratings of life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and positive future outlook for schooling, employment, finances, and marriage.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kalmuss | first1 = D. | last2 = Namerow | first2 = P.B. | last3 = Bauer | first3 = U. | year = 1992 | title = Short-term consequences of parenting versus adoption among young unmarried women | journal = Journal of Marriage and Family | volume = 54 | issue = 1| pages = 80–90 | doi=10.2307/353277| jstor = 353277 }}</ref> Subsequent research found that adolescent mothers who chose to release their babies for adoption were more likely to experience feelings of sorrow and regret over their decision than those who kept their babies. However, these feelings decreased significantly from one year after birth to the end of the second year.<ref name="Donnelly, B.W. & Voydanoff, P">Donnelly, B.W. & Voydanoff, P.</ref>

More recent research found that in a sample of mothers who had released their children for adoption four to 12 years prior, every participant had frequent thoughts of their lost child. For most, thoughts were both negative and positive in that they produced both feelings of sadness and joy. Those who experienced the greatest portion of positive thoughts were those who had open, rather than closed or time-limited mediated, adoptions.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fravel | first1 = D.L. | last2 = McRoy | first2 = R.G. | last3 = Grotevant | first3 = H.D. | year = 2000 | title = Birthmother perceptions of the psychologically present adopted child: Adoption openness and boundary ambiguity | journal = Family Relations | volume = 49 | issue = 4| pages = 425–433 | doi=10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00425.x}}</ref>

In another study that compared mothers who released their children to those who raised them, mothers who released their children were more likely to delay their next pregnancy, to delay marriage, and to complete job training. However, both groups reached lower levels of education than their peers who were never pregnant.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McLaughlin | first1 = S.D. | last2 = Manninen | first2 = D.L. | last3 = Winges | first3 = L.D. | year = 1988 | title = Do adolescents who relinquish their children fare better or worse than those who raise them? | journal = Family Planning Perspectives | volume = 20 | issue = 1| pages = 25–32 | doi=10.2307/2135594| pmid = 3371467 | jstor = 2135594 }}</ref> Another study found similar consequences for choosing to release a child for adoption. Adolescent mothers who released their children were more likely to reach a higher level of education and to be employed than those who kept their children. They also waited longer before having their next child.<ref name="Donnelly, B.W. & Voydanoff, P"/> Most of the research that exists on adoption effects on the birth parents was conducted with samples of adolescents, or with women who were adolescents when carrying their babies—little data exists for birth parents from other populations. Furthermore, there is a lack of longitudinal data that may elucidate long-term social and psychological consequences for birth parents who choose to place their children for adoption.