Working With What We've Got: Perceptions of Barriers and Supports Among Small-Metropolitan-Area Same-Sex Adopting Couples

In seeking to adopt, lesbians and gay men may confront various barriers and obstacles. Ideally, they have access to a variety of support resources that can help to buffer the negative effects of these barriers. Lesbians and gay men living in small metropolitan communities may have limited access to support resources, however. The current qualitative study examined the perceptions of 37 same-sex couples who were pursuing adoption while living outside of large metropolitan cities, with attention to the barriers these couples encountered during the adoption process and the resources they drew upon to cope with such challenges. Findings indicated that same-sex couples living in small metropolitan areas confronted several major barriers in the adoption process, such as a lack of geographically accessible gay-friendly adoption agencies. Despite limited access to support, participants showed evidence of notable resourcefulness. For example, participants with limited access to formal support groups sought out informal supports instead.