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We discuss adoption as a diverse family structure in America. Adoption has existed in some form throughout the history with the portrayal varying by historical epoch. Adoption has been both disparaged and idealized to perpetuate the interest of elite players. This chapter discusses adoption in terms of the changing demographic which 21st century families face. In this manuscript, we first discuss the history of adoption in the United States including its impact as social control of premarital sex. Then the three players in the adoption triad are discussed and analyzed. Finally, we highlight how demographics of race, class, gender, and sexuality impact the adoption experience by 21st century families. Specifically, we explore the recent National Survey of Adoptive Parents from the United States Center for Disease Control and look at the modern adoption experience

The first question to be addressed on this issue is what is open adoption? What follows in this article is a survey of definitions in the literature which reveals a broad spectrum of definitions of openness. Most of the definitions which follow are based on the range of practices which researchers have come across during their interviews with families who have been involved in an open adoption. Essentially, open adoption is a term which describes the continued contact between an adopted child and his/her birth parent(s) after adoption. Open adoption has also been referred to as the adoption triangle as there are three parties involved in the adoption rather than the traditional two.

In this chapter, we use the concepts of emotional labor or emotion work to examine the experiences of transracial families – white families rearing Black adoptees. We focus on the emotion work done by the parents to inculcate and develop positive racial identities for their adoptive children as their adoptees experience racial mistreatment. We also use the concept of white racial framing to examine strategies for effectively coping with racial mistreatment. African Americans have more emotion work than the members of dominant group because of their status as stigmatized minorities in American society. African Americans adopted by white families have even greater emotion work because they tend to have the extra burden of living in predominately white communities where there are fewer people of color to serve as positive role models in the socialization process.

The consumer culture for expectant parents has changed considerably over the past few decades. Culturally, society places a great deal of emphasis and attention on traditional families and often neglects to recognize non‐traditional families. Although previous consumer literature examines purchase intentions in preparation for parenthood through the traditional biological lens, there have yet to be studies that observe this phenomenon in the context of adoption. This study aims to provide an understanding of the consumer uncertainty and risk that affect purchase intention in this family dynamic.

This study focuses on the psychological dimensions of risk to examine consumer uncertainty as it relates to purchase decisions during the expectant stage of adoption. A literature review was conducted in order to provide a foundation for the study. After finding gaps in the current literature, a mixed approach qualitative study was conducted. Through extensive interviews and focus groups, data were gathered directly from families that meet the scenario requirement and then the findings were analyzed in the phenomenological custom of theme clustering.

The research showed that adoptive parents as consumers largely associate the uncertainty and risk involved with making purchases for a new child with their lack of reference groups. There is a clear pattern of discontent, on the part of adoptive parents, with the lack of interest in their life changing situation (adoption) paid by family, friends, and marketers. Themes that emerged through the research showed that adoptive families desire to be reflected more in the media and further, to be acknowledged as expectant parents in order to bolster confidence in their purchase decisions.

This research provides marketers with a unique perspective as it relates to adoptive parents as consumers. Through the findings of this study, companies can learn some of the key themes to address if they would like to target this segment of affluent parents. By understanding the uncertainty and risk these consumers feel regarding purchase intentions, these fears can be alleviated by companies hoping to engage this audience.

The aim of the study described here was to assess the types of additional specialist service available to adoptive parents participating in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of post‐adoption support whose ex‐care children were showing substantial psychosocial problems. Parents from 37 families who volunteered for the RCT were asked about access to professional help with problems arising from the placement, additional to the tested support: questions focused on which services they had received, how long they waited and whether the services were, in their terms, satisfactory. The study found that 23 families had used or applied for 37 separate specialised services to support the child or family. Although 56% of families were positive about services, 12 families had waited more than a year for a first contact with specialists and 44% of parents said the services had not met their needs. The experiences of these parents show that more timely and targeted services are needed for adoptive families with a child with psychosocial problems.

Confidentiality in adoption has been the norm in this country since the 1930s. Traditionally, it has been perceived as beneficial to all sides of the adoption triangle: the adoptive parents, the adoptee, and the birth parents. Adoption agencies have supported the policy of confidentiality, and as a result the practice of concealment is almost universal in the United States. Alaska, Hawaii, and Kansas are the only states that allow adult adoptees access to their birth and adoption information.

The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a service evaluation undertaken within a single specialist child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) team. The team works closely with local authority children’s services to serve specific populations recognised as experiencing higher levels of mental health need, including children living in alternative care and with adoptive families. The evaluation sought to better understand the experience of this provision during the COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant increase in remote and digitally mediated care delivery.

Analysis of the accounts of 38 parents, carers and professionals involved with the team gathered via telephone interviews and email and postal questionnaires.

Similar views were expressed from participants involved with the team before and following the onset of the pandemic. Overall, satisfaction was high; however, changes in care appeared more challenging for those already involved with the team before the pandemic. Differences in experience between groups were also evident. Whereas foster carers’ accounts were generally appreciative of the involvement of clinicians, particularly regarding clinician–patient relationships, amongst adoptive parents and members of children’s birth families there were more mixed and negative impressions.

Locally based service evaluations can help inform care pathway planning in specialist CAMHS provision as part of wider quality improvement initiatives. This is especially relevant considering the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the longer-term acceptability of remote working practices is appraised.

The purpose of this paper was to determine the attachment strategies of prospective adoptive parents and any correlation between attachment and the defensive strategies they used when talking about loss of fertility. The study also examined whether attachment strategy of the applicants had a bearing on the decision by the local authority to place a child.

The sample was comprised of 48 respondents (21 couples) representing 84 per cent of all people who applied to one UK Social Services Department in a 12-month period. Placement of a child was reviewed two years following the assessment. The study used the dynamic maturational model version of the adult attachment interview (DMM-AAI), together with added questions on loss of fertility to assess the applicants’ attachment strategies together with unresolved loss and trauma and the DMM modifiers.

Unlike adoption studies using the Main and Goldwyn system, this study rated very few of the applicants’ AAIs as secure (13 per cent), 48 per cent were in the normative low-risk range and 52 per cent of the AAIs were coded in the more complex DMM insecure strategies. There was a significant bias towards marriages where the partners deployed opposite low-risk/DMM strategies (13 (62 per cent) of couples). Compared with data on non-clinical populations the AAIs showed a high level of unresolved loss or trauma (58 per cent). Using a six-way distribution (A1-2, C1-2, B, A3-4, C3-6 and A/C) there was an 87 per cent correspondence between discourse about loss of fertility and that about attachment, thereby supporting the established proposition that reproduction is part of the attachment system. Twenty one per cent of the AAIs were coded as “disorientated” and this is discussed in terms of conflict for adoptive of parents concerning the raising of a child who carries their own genes or those of strangers. A case is made to conceptualise negative impact of infertility in terms of unresolved trauma rather than loss.

This study adds to research showing that the DMM approach is more finely calibrated than the ABC+disorganised model with the latter likely over coding for security. The results emphasise that fertility and reproduction are legitimate subjects for attachment studies and that AAI discourse analysis is a valid methodology for future research. However coder agreement as to whether or not loss of fertility was resolved was only fair (64 per cent) κ. 0.25 (po0.33). More work is required in order to determine what constitutes unresolved loss of fertility and what impact, if any, this has on parenting an adopted child.

The practice implications are considered in a separate paper.

The findings are contentious in that they suggest a significant number (48 per cent) of adoptive parents have needs not dissimilar to other clients of psychological services.

This is the first DMM-AAI study with prospective adoptive parents and the findings show significant differences when compared with previous studies using the Main and Goldwyn AAI. It is also the first study to establish fertility as a legitimate area for attachment studies by using AAI discourse analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the conditions of the wajibah (obligatory) will under compilation of Islamic law (KHI) and the application and rationale of wajibah wills in religious justice. The wajibah will is a form of judicial wealth transition that can deliver an inheritance to an heir who is not otherwise eligible for it. It is implemented in some Islamic countries, including Indonesia, based on the KHI.

This is a descriptive qualitative study that uses documentation as a data-collection method. This study applies the content-analysis method to the data collected.

The results of study indicate that, under KHI, a wajibah will only be given to adopted children. Nevertheless, in the practice of religious justice, the wajibah will is also granted to heirs of faiths other than Islam and to illegitimate children. The rationale for the wajibah will involves historical factors and public considerations.

This paper provides information on the practice of the wajibah will in Indonesia in view of the plurality of the Indonesian people. Thus, the wajibah will is an appropriate instrument to attain justness in the well-being of the community. This paper also attempts to give a critical review of the practice based on five necessities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences that people with HIV faced as they navigated through the intricate processes of trying to access adoption services in the south of England. It proposes the need to pay more attention to people living with HIV (PLWHIV) able to adopt children. The study aims to develop an increased focus on PLWHIV able to adopt.

The paper is an exploratory study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Open-ended interviews were conducted with seven participants including individuals and couples. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using IPA’s cross-case and ideographic analysis.

The paper provides empirical insights about the challenges that PLWHIV experienced with social workers. Positive experiences were in the minority. Lack of information, inadequate support, stigma and discrimination, cultural insensitivity and disempowerment were frequently reported. The paper suggests that greater understanding and better education for social workers would improve access to adoption by people with HIV.

Given the chosen approach and small sample size, results may not be generalisable.

This study increases knowledge, promotes positive attitudes and improved support for PLWHIV who are stable and able to offer permanency to adoptive children.

This paper provides new ideas in an area that is scarcely researched. It identifies the need to undertake further studies to understand how social workers assess PLWHIV and what can be done to provide adequate support.