Social disclosure among Korean domestic adoptive parents: the role of self-esteem

This study examines the relationship among involuntary childlessness, social support, and social disclosure of Korean domestic adoptive parents. Data were collected from a sample of 90 such parents who had already disclosed the adoption to their child. Path analysis revealed that involuntary childlessness does not directly affect social disclosure of adoption, but it does affect the self-esteem of adoptive parents, and parental self-esteem was significantly and positively related to social disclosure. Social support reinforces the self-esteem of adoptive parents, thus contributing to the social disclosure of adoption. This research highlights the importance of pre- and post-adoption counselling that address the unique experiences of adoptive families in South Korea.     

Adoption in Korea: current status and future prospects

This article examines the current status of adoption in Korea and discusses the issues that must be addressed for future development. The nature of adoption has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, and continues to change in Korea. If the first half of modern adoption history were about finding and providing permanent homes for war orphans and children abandoned out of destitution, the second half saw increasing demand for adoption to function as a key component of the continuum of child welfare services providing care for children who need protection and care outside their home. However, responding to this change has been a challenge over the years. Based on the analysis of recent trends of the child welfare system and adoption in Korea, this article reveals that there are significant barriers in the path to improving adoption, especially domestic adoption, so that it can be considered a realistic placement option for children who need protection and care in Korea. Suggestions for the future direction of reforming adoption policy and practice are given.     

Adoption as a means of child protection: the law and practice in Malaysia

Adoption in Malaysia is of two kinds; firstly, taking the child of another as a person's own child, where as a result, the adopted child will stand in equal footing with the natural children of the adoptive parents; and secondly, taking a child of another into a person's custody without affecting the biological status of the adopted child. This article wishes to discuss the law and practice of adoption in Malaysia as one of the means of child protection. The article will also examine as to whether the law is adequate to protect children who are the subjects of adoption.     

Securing permanence for children in care: A cross-country analysis of citizen's view on adoption versus foster care

If children in child protection cannot be cared for by their natural parents, should they be adopted or live in foster home? Results from a study of representative samples of populations (n = 12 330), in eight European countries—Austria, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Spain—and California, USA, reveal that people would recommend adoption over foster care, if a child in public care cannot grow up with their natural parent(s). There are cross-country differences between populations, and examining if institutional context such as type of child protection system explains differences, we find that child maltreatment-oriented systems are more supportive of adoption than other types of systems. Citizens having little confidence in the child protection system were only weakly correlated with preference for adoption. In conclusion, people prefer adoption as placement options for children in care are more than foster homes, and possible this finding reflects a sort of refamalialization of children into the private sphere.     

Adoption from care in Northern Ireland: problems in the process

ABSTRACT This is a study of the processes for freeing children for adoption in Northern Ireland. The focus was the time taken from admission to care to adoption order. The findings confirmed that the process is dogged by delay at each stage. In total the average time from the child becoming looked after to the granting of an adoption order was 4.5 years. Most of the time taken was in the stages for which social services had lead responsibility, principally the decision to pursue adoption as the plan for a child. The children were very young when admitted to care – average age 1 year 7 months. Most were admitted to care because they were being neglected. Their parents were well known to social services and had multiple problems. Most parents unsuccessfully contested the social services’ application and this contributed much to the delay. Their former foster parents adopted almost half of the children and these children tended to be placed more quickly with their adopters than those placed with adopters who were not their foster parents prior to the adoption process.     

Globalization and international adoption from China

Since the mid-1990s, China has become one of the major countries from which children are adopted overseas. This paper examines ways in which globalization has contributed to the development of international adoption from China and explores cultural and historical attitudes to population growth, child abandonment and adoption. How China's social, economic and welfare policies have affected adoption policies and practices are discussed, with reference to ethnographic fieldwork undertaken by the authors between 2001 and 2007. Interviews and group discussions were conducted with UK, Chinese and American adoptive parents, directors of social welfare institutes, Chinese welfare officials and staff of non-government organizations working in the area of adoption and fostering in China. While globalization has affected, and continues to affect inter-country adoption, its influence in China is analysed using Masson's value positions on international adoption – abolitionists, promoters and pragmatists. China's pragmatic approach to international adoption is considered in relation to policies that reflect the best interests of children in China and overseas.     

The effects of adoption disclosure on the adaptation of Korean adoptive families

The main goal of this study is to examine the effects of adoption disclosure on the adaptation of Korean adoptive families using a two stage equation model. The results of this study indicate that there is a self-selection bias between disclosed and closed adoptive families. Yet, even after considering this selection bias, adoption disclosure was associated with the positive outcomes of adoptive families. Also, the estimates in the treatment effect model were found to be very similar to those of the regression model, indicating that the degree of self-selection bias between these groups was not so strong as to distort the effects of adoption disclosure and other predictors.     

From Secrecy to Surrogacy: Attitudes Toward Adoption in Australian Womens Journals 1947–1987

This study of social attitudes to adoption as reflected in Australian women's journals over a forty year period indicates that secrecy has given way to more open acknowledgement of adoptive status and access to original birth records at 18 years in all Australian states. However, while there have been changes in official social welfare policies, the notion of entitlement to a child by a couple still prevails. Despite a more liberal approach towards single parenthood, there remains a strong underlying feeling that the single pregnant female should give up her child so as to allow an infertile couple to create a family.     

Birth parents’ perceptions of professional practice in child care and adoption proceedings: implications for practice

This paper explores non‐relinquishing birth parents’ experiences of contested child care and adoption proceedings. It highlights the perceptions and voices of birth parents which are rarely prioritized in dominant discourses of professional practice in this area. The paper reviews previous related research and also discusses a small‐scale empirical study which elicited the perspectives of three birth parents whose children had been made subject to care proceedings and placed for adoption in England. Drawing on previous research and this study, the paper makes range of practice recommendations for sensitive professional practice with birth parents during contested child care and adoption proceedings.     

Openness in adoption: Challenging the narrative of historical progress

One significant change in adoption practice that has occurred over the last four decades is the shift away from an expectation of confidentiality towards an expectation of openness in adoption. Openness is typically conceived in terms of the level of contact between adoptive and birth families following adoption or the extent to which adoption is openly discussed within the adoptive family. While these shifts in practice have generated controversy, they are largely supported by research evidence and have become a feature of contemporary adoptive family life. As a result, the narrative that has emerged in relation to openness in adoption is one of historical progress. In this paper, I argue that the lived reality of adoption is less straightforward than this narrative suggests. An analysis of the social and cultural context in which adoption operates suggests instead that the persistent feature of adoption throughout this historical period of increasing openness can be more accurately described as a state of enduring ambiguity regarding the nature of post‐adoption relationships. The paper highlights the potentially damaging consequences of overlooking this aspect of adoptive family life and comments on the role of policy in shaping openness in adoption.     

Mixed ethnicity, identity and adoption: research, policy and practice

Mixed ethnicity children are over-represented in the care system and constitute a significant group of those seeking adoption placements. Social workers are presented with a specific set of concerns in seeking to find adoption placements for mixed ethnicity children as they come from two or more cultural backgrounds. Practitioners face uncertain principles concerning how to respond to these issues, especially in light of social and political pressures, and within the realm of existing debates around 'transracial' adoption. There is a danger that among these uncertainties the individuality of the child will be lost as his or her identity needs become viewed narrowly. Social workers may seek to simplify and classify the identities of mixed ethnicity children in the adoption process through pressures that they feel to find 'matched' placements. This paper explores how theories concerning identity can provide some insight into the difficulties practitioners face and may help to inform social work practice in this area.     

The paradox of inter-country adoption: analysing Romania's experience as a sending country

This article explores the effects of inter-country adoption on the development of in-country services to protect children and support families in Romania. The country's child care legislation gives formal priority to domestic alternatives to institutional care – preventive services, family reunification, foster care and in-country adoption. Despite this, inter-country adoption continues to play a central role in Romania's child welfare system. The article analyses the multiple and complex factors at policy and practice levels that lie behind this situation. It is concluded that whilst inter-country adoption may be used to secure some resources for the development of in-country services, it paradoxically undermines the effectiveness of those services for the children who are left behind.     

Beyond attachment theory and therapy: Towards sensitive and evidence-based interventions with foster and adoptive families in distress

Elements of attachment theory have been embraced by practitioners endeavouring to assist foster and adopted children and their parents. Attachment theory articulates the potential risks of experiencing multiple caregivers; emphasizes the importance of close social relationships to development; and recognizes that substitute parents may not always have close relationships with children who have experienced adversities before joining them. Attachment theory offers concerned parents what they believe to be a scientific explanation about their lack of the close, satisfying parent–child relationship they desire. Yet the scientific base of attachment theory is limited both in terms of its ability to predict future behaviours, and especially with regard to its use as the underpinning theory for therapeutic intervention with children experiencing conduct problems. There is a critical need to review the role of attachment theory in child and family services and to consider its place among other explanations for children's disturbing behaviour. An important step towards pursuing alternative approaches is for researchers and practitioners to understand the reasons the attachment paradigm appeals to so many adoptive and foster parents, given the apparent widespread prevalence of attachment‐based interventions. Such understanding might assist in the development of adoption‐sensitive uses of appropriate evidence‐based treatment approaches.     

Predictors of outcome for unrelated adoptive placements made during middle childhood

This paper reports on a follow‐up to adolescence of two longitudinal prospective studies of children placed from public care with non‐related adoptive families in the UK. Factors associated with outcome are presented for 99 children (one index child per adoptive family) who were between 5 and 11 years of age at placement. Information concerning the children's backgrounds and care histories was obtained shortly after placement (T1), from social workers. Adopters were interviewed at T1 and again at the end of the first year (T2). A further follow‐up was conducted an average of six years after placement (T3). Outcomes at T3 were classified as either disrupted, which was true for 23%, continuing and ‘positive’ (49%) or continuing but ‘difficult’ (28%). Bivariate analyses revealed a number of attributes, related to both the child and the adoptive parents, which were associated with differential outcomes. Logistic regression produced five predictors of placement disruption: age at placement, behavioural problems, preferential rejection, time in care and the child's degree of attachment to the new mother. Differences were found between ‘positive’ and ‘difficult’ outcomes in continuing placements as well as between continuing and disrupted placements. The analysis suggests that adoption should certainly be considered as an option for children over 5 years of age while recognizing the need for both preparation and post‐placement support. Evidence of differential outcome in continuing placements provides support for efforts to reduce the number of placements and returns home that a child at risk experiences.     

Social constructions of reality and narratives of parental incapability in the process of adjudicating the adoption of minors in Israel

Compulsory adoption of a child constitutes the most extreme intervention of the state in family life. In Israel, this intervention relies mainly on the cause of parental incapability, which has not been clearly defined by the law and is left to the court's discretion. In this paper, the social construction of a reality paradigm and the narrative approach to the law are used as conceptual frameworks for analysing the concept of parental capability in court decisions favouring compulsory adoption. The analysis of case studies revealed six central narratives of parental incapability in court decisions and the judicial practices that constructed them. The compelling power of the parental incapability narrative leading almost conclusively to the closed adoption solution is discussed, and an alternative narrative of open adoption is put forward.     

Predictors of parenting stress in portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents

Parenting stress is related to the characteristics of both the child and the parents, as well as to parent–child interactions. In adoptive families, parenting stress has been identified as an indicator of the family's adjustment to adoption. The stress experienced by parents of adopted adolescents deserves special consideration, as adolescence is a critical period in the adoptees' developmental pathway. The present study aims to identify the adoptee, parents and family related predictors of the adoptive parents' parenting stress, exploring direct and indirect effects. Fifty Portuguese adolescents' adoptive parents participated in this study. Parenting stress was measured by the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to evaluate the adoptees' (mal)adjustment, according to the parents' perspective. Variables related to the parents' experience of adoption were assessed resorting to the Parent's Interview about the Adoption Process. Results showed that parents' satisfaction and adoptees' adjustment were sequential mediators of the relationship between the parents' experience of family life and parenting stress. These findings provide new insights into adoption research in parenting stress, highlighting the importance of adoption‐related variables such as the parents' adoption experience within the family and family relationships.     

Responding to child sexual abuse: an evaluation of social work by children and their carers

This paper presents the views and perceptions of 35 children and their current carers regarding the social work response to child sexual abuse. Interviews with the children and carers, including foster carers and residential carers, were carried out 2–4 years following disclosure, thus the nature of social work support in the longer term, as well as the initial response, is assessed and described. Three evaluations of social work support are presented: the child-ren's evaluations of social workers known since disclosure, and two evaluations from the carers, one focusing on the child's needs, and one focusing on their own as carers. All three evaluations perceived the majority of social workers as having helped. Aspects of social work considered essential included providing emotional support and reassurance, providing information and explanation and arrang-ing and coordinating services, including counselling or therapy.
  Carers of children who were abused by someone outside the family were less likely to receive social work support. The frustra-tion and disappointment expressed by some of these carers reaffirms the importance of assessing needs even when the child is considered protected from further abuse. The findings of this study support the need to refocus responses to abused children and their families.     

Documentary analysis of the legal and policy framework of transracial adoption in South Africa

Transracial adoption was legalized in South Africa through legislative reform as South Africa moved into a post-apartheid era of non-racialism. Transracial adoption offers one option of placement for Black children in need of alternative care. However, adoption continues to face obstacles to implementation, including cultural obstacles which impact on placement of Black African children. This paper reports on adoption statistics on national adoption in the period 2013–2021 and a documentary analysis of the current legal and policy framework governing transracial adoption. We cover international instruments, local laws, including the Children's Act of 2005, and relevant policy documents designed to facilitate the implementation of adoption. We show that the law is supportive of transracial adoption, but that policy documents offer a somewhat contradictory stance to the practice. The lack of success of transracial adoption as a child protection strategy does not lie within the legal framework but may lie in the difficulties in interpreting and implementing the range of different policies by those implementing these policies. More research into the implementation practice of these bureaucrats is required to understand the underutilization of transracial adoption as a placement option for Black children in South Africa.     

Adoption breakdown and adolescence

Adoption breakdown has attracted an increasing amount of attention over recent years, and studies coincide in stating that the mean age at which this phenomenon occurs is early adolescence. Nevertheless, the specific factors which influence adoption breakdown, have never been empirically explored. The aim of this article is therefore to analyse these factors by comparing cases of adoption breakdown which occurred prior to the onset of adolescence with those occurring after the beginning of this developmental stage. The study explores 69 cases of adoption breakdown occurring over the course of a decade in one Spanish region, taking into consideration variables related to the adopted children, the adoptive parents, the parent–child relationship, and the professional support services provided to these families. The results reveal a clear difference in the profile of breakdowns occurring before and after the onset of adolescence and identify a series of factors which seem to have a stronger influence in each group, such as violence, timing of problems, and unrealistic expectations regarding the child. These findings have important implications for professional adoption services, such us the importance of early identification of difficulties and the provision of support during adolescence.     

Why and how do parents decide to adopt? A study on motivations and the decision-making process in becoming an adoptive family

There are several motives underlying the process of deciding to become an adoptive family. However, research exploring this issue is scarce and essentially focused on infertility as the main motivation. The present mixed-method study aims to fill in this gap by exploring, retrospectively, the motives to adopt of 126 Portuguese adoptive parents. The Parents' Interview on the Adoption Process was used to identify the motives to adopt and describe the adoption decision-making process. Seven main motives (biological issues, filling in a void/loneliness, adoption as a life project, expanding the family, philanthropy, contact with the child protection system and parenthood) were identified. These motives can be centred on the self, the child or both simultaneously and are characterized by dynamism, permeability and interconnection. Findings allowed for establishing conceptual considerations on motivations to adopt and recommendations for adoption practice.