Adolescents' feelings about openness in adoption: implications for adoption agencies

Adoption research commonly uses parents' reports of satisfaction when examining openness in adoption arrangements. This qualitative study aimed to fill a gap in the adoption research by using adolescents' voices to gain a better understanding of their adoption experiences. Adopted adolescents (n = 152) were interviewed concerning their satisfaction with the openness in their adoption arrangements with their birthmothers. Results and implications from this study may affect how adoption agencies work with adopted adolescents and their families, and may influence a broader understanding of the recent trend toward open adoption arrangements.     

Preparing special-needs children for adoption through use of a life book

Adequate preparation can help assure the success of adoptive placements for special-needs children. One successful method calls for the development of a life book, chronicling the movement of the child through the five stages that will prepare him or her for adoption.     

Why Interculturalidad is not Interculturality

Interculturality is a notion that has come to dominate the debate on cultural diversity among supranational bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in recent years. The EU goes so far as to identify interculturality as a key cultural and linguistic characteristic of a union which, it argues, acts as an inspiration to other parts of the world. At the same time, the very notion of interculturality is a core component of indigenous movements in the Andean region of Latin America in their struggles for decolonization. Every bit as contingent as any other concept, it is apparent that several translations of interculturality are simultaneously in play. Through interviews with students and teachers in a course on interculturality run by indigenous alliances, my aim in this essay is to study how the notion is translated in the sociopolitical context of the Andes. With reference points drawn from the works of Walter Mignolo and the concept of delinking, I will engage in a discussion about the potential for interculturality to break out of the prison-house of colonial vocabulary – modernization, progress and salvation – that lingers on in official memory. Engagement in such an interchange of experiences, memories and significations provides not only recognition of other forms of subjectivity, knowledge systems and visions of the future, but also a possible contribution to an understanding of how any attempt to invoke a universal reach for interculturality, as in the case of the EU and UNESCO, risks echoing the imperial order that the notion in another context attempts to overcome.     

Electricity consumption changes following solar adoption: Testing for a solar rebound

We use household-level data to explore residential electricity use patterns following installation of solar panels. Solar adoption leads to an increase in total electricity consumption relative to a matched non-adopting control group. Our point estimate translates to a rebound effect of 28.5%, suggesting that nearly a third of the electricity produced by a customer's solar panels is used for increased energy services, rather than reduced grid electricity consumption. We explore several potential drivers of an increase in electricity consumption. These results have important implications for electricity planning and policy, suggesting that rooftop solar stimulates additional demand for electricity.     

The role of faith in adoption: achieving positive adoption outcomes for African American children

African American children are overrepresented in foster care by more than twice their proportion in the population (U.S. Government Accountability Office [USGAO], 2007). Building upon research relating faith (religiosity) to positive health and mental health, this study utilized cognitive and religious coping theories to examine the influence of faith on choosing to adopt, achieving positive adoption outcomes, and reducing disproportionality. From Louisiana and Texas, 113 families who adopted 226 children, 48% African American, participated in a survey measuring children's behavior and parent distress (PSI-SF Difficult Child and Parent Distress Subscales) and religiosity (Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Index). Of the respondents, 93% of the respondents belonged to a religious congregation, 86% attended church weekly. Controlling for child's behavior, religiosity predicted lower stress in adoptive parenting; church attendance was related to improvement in parental health since adopting. Faith was rated most frequently as essential in parents' decisions to adopt. The study concludes that faith may be an asset in increasing adoptions and improving adoption outcomes resulting in increased numbers of African American children adopted.     

Measuring outcomes for children late placed for adoption

Selecting appropriate measures to assess the outcomes of permanent placement across a broad range of developmental dimensions is problematic. The Maudsley team are adapting and developing a package of instruments designed to identify the key influences on developmental recovery for a longitudinal sample of children late placed for adoption.     

Preparing the school-age child for adoption.

The development of an adoptive relationship for children who have been in the limbo of foster care is a continuous process. It is unrealistic to expect these families to live happily ever after. Agencies must begin developing regular services to meet the special needs of the families being created. To a large extent the issues that will have to be worked through relate to the stages of preparation outlined in this paper. Each stage in the child's growth may activate unresolved issues around the grief at the biological parents' rejection, confusion about identity or difficulty in working through problems. Future adoptive home recruitment must take this into account by providing training and other supports to families considering adopting the older child.     

Envisaging the adoption process to strengthen gay- and lesbian-headed families: recommendations for adoption professionals

Although a growing number of child placement agencies are serving lesbians and gay men, a dearth of literature exists for adoption agency policies and practices related to working with this population. This article explores the unique characteristics and strengths of prospective gay and lesbian adoptive parents throughout each of the three phases of the adoption process-preplacement, placement, and postplacement-as well as provides suggestions for adoption professionals working with gays and lesbians. Data from a recent qualitative study of single, gay adoptive fathers are used to illustrate examples and expose areas of potential strengths of adoptive parents not generally explored in the preplacement or preparatory stage. Special attention also is given to the continuing needs of adoptive families headed by gays and lesbians after adoptive placement. Specifically explored are the needs for developing linkages with similar families, as well as providing resources designed to promote successful outcomes of adopted children raised by gays and lesbians.     

Care-leavers and their children placed for adoption

Young people in and leaving state care are more likely than the general population to become parents at a young age. Relatively little is known about the experiences and progress of care leaver parents and their children, but emerging evidence suggests an increased risk of intergenerational state intervention. Drawing on data from the Wales Adoption Study, this paper examines the prevalence and profiles of care leavers amongst birth parents whose children were placed for adoption. Findings showed that more than a quarter (27%) of birth mothers and a fifth (19%) of birth fathers with children placed for adoption were themselves care leavers. There were no significant differences between care leaver and non-care leaver birth parents in terms of involvement in crime or substance misuse, but carer leaver birth parents were distinguishable from other birth parents by their own experiences of abuse and neglect. Care leaver birth mothers were also more likely than their non-care leaver counterparts to have diagnosed mental health problems and were less likely to appeal the adoption plan. The profiles of children placed for adoption between care leaver and non-care leaver birth parents were similar. The findings presented in this paper strengthen the moral imperative to address the over-representation of care leavers amongst birth parents whose children are placed for adoption. There is an urgent need to revise how children and young people in state care are prepared for parenthood and supported as parents.     

Popular opinion is not empirical data

Conclusion It is not the purpose of this paper to defend psychiatric diagnosis; the reliability, validity, and the process itself have been found lacking in many respects (Zigler & Phillips, 1961) and it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify the current system. Rather, the purpose of this paper has been to examine the claims and conclusions concerning psychiatric diagnosis as presented in Rosenhan's article, On Being Sane in Insane Places. As has been pointed out, this study has methodological and logical difficulties which render its conclusions, as stated, invalid or questionable in nature.The currentzeitgeist is in favor of criticizing psychiatric and psychological thinking and practice in relation to mental illness. It is suggested that there is no such thing as mental illness (Szasz, 1960), that diagnosis is useless (Sarbin, 1967), that symptoms are socio-psychological in nature (as if this makes them less real), and that self-fulfilling prophecy accounts for the current overcrowding in mental hospitals. All of these things may be true. Or, they may be erroneous assumptions. Certainly, they are factors which mental health professionals must consider. However, this consideration must be careful, objective, and analytic in nature in order to avoid the bandwagon effect. It is hoped that his paper may contribute to a more evaluative demeanor on the part of all mental health professionals.     

Self-acceptance: a factor in the adoption process

This study determined that high self-acceptance of adoptive parents influenced high parental acceptance of their adopted children. A case is made for emphasizing self-acceptance in adoption procedures.     

Permanency mediation: a path to open adoption for children in out-of-home care

This research study examined the experiences of birthparents, permanent parents, and mediators in permanency mediation following a state child welfare agency's recommendation for termination of parental rights. Permanency mediation provides participants with the opportunity to collaborate in an agreement that entails a voluntary surrender of parental rights by the birthparents and the placement of children with permanent parents in open adoption or guardianship. Findings suggested that permanency mediation has the potential to be a successful practice. Participants, however, need additional support during and after mediation to help them understand open adoption and deal with the changes in family structures and boundaries, address their own feelings and concerns, and establish reliable means of communication with each other.     

A group model for adoption studies for special-needs children

A comparison of the effectiveness of the group model with the individual method for adoption studies reveals that the group method had a greater success in permanent placement and used adoption staff members' time most efficiently.