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Memorable messages that adoptees receive throughout development may have lasting impacts on their well-being, identity development, and relationships. Given historical and current adoption practices that link adoption and Christianity, more research is needed to examine the memorable messages that adoptees received while being raised in these religious contexts. Using a qualitative approach grounded in the communicated sense-making model, 41 adult adoptees were interviewed to identify memorable messages they heard while growing up in Christian adoptive homes, the communicators of messages, and their interpretations of the messages as children and adults. Results revealed a range of memorable messages communicated primarily by adoptive parents and church members, including that the adoptee was chosen by God, that the adoption was part of God's plan, and that they were saved/rescued. Common childhood interpretation themes included accepting the messages, questioning belonging, and complying/people pleasing. Adult interpretations were generally more critical, including that the messages glossed over trauma and grief and implied negative views of first family/culture. These findings add to the literature in adoptive family communication by taking into account the religious undertones of many adoption-based messages and contribute to the broader literature on memorable messages by identifying participants' progression of sense-making in interpreting these messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1983 and 2018, approximately 170,000 people journeyed abroad to access abortions outside Ireland due to Ireland having one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. This paper analyses the lived experience of people who made such journeys, contributing to the literature on restricted abortion access and forced abortion travel. Six in-depth interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Three master themes were developed. Master Theme 1 speaks to the burden of concealing the experience, and the fear of being discovered and punished that drove the concealment. Master Theme 2 gives insight into overlapping and interwoven challenges of having to leave one's country to access abortion services: lack of access to information, financial burdens, being forced to remain pregnant after making the decision to end that pregnancy, and the impact of all of this against the backdrop of the crisis of unwanted pregnancy. Master Theme 3 speaks to the processing and meaning-making of the journey; how coming into contact with others who had similar stories informed a more compassionate lens on their own stories, and inspired participants, to varying degrees, to become active in the struggle to make Ireland's abortion legislation less restrictive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standardized, trauma-informed pre-certification trainings for resource parents may influence placement stability and outcomes for children in foster care. Eight focus groups were conducted to elicit feedback from resource parents and child welfare trainers on their experiences with pre-certification trainings and an urban child welfare system. Using directed content analysis, four major categorical themes emerged: relationships and supports, knowledge and understanding, motivations and expectations, and attitudes and perspectives. These findings provide insight into factors that both promote successful caregiving and offer considerations for training curricula content for foster care organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study examines a representative sample of adults in California (USA) and Norway, and their attitudes toward adoption versus foster care in a child protection case. The results show that a majority of people favour adoption for a child who has been removed due to maltreatment and cannot be reunified with birth parents. The study examines if people's rights orientation, favouring children or adults, or favouring birth parents or adoptive parents, or their institutional context explain their preferences about long‐term care options. Data material consist of representative samples of the population in California (USA) and Norway (n = 2222), using a vignette survey design. Findings suggest that individuals with a child rights position favour adoption, but attitudes about birth parents' and adoptive parents' rights are not related to care option choices. Institutional context, anchored in policy feedback literature, partly explains the preference for adoption and the population's rights orientation. Further studies are necessary to confirm the role of rights attitudes and institutional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation to adopt transracially is under-researched in the South African context. This paper reports on qualitative psycho-social research, using the life stage model to investigate motivation to adopt in 26 transracially adoptive families, interviewed in focus groups and family interviews. Results indicate that the decision to adopt is complex, and influenced by opportunities and obstacles. Both parent- and child-centered motivations, as well as preferential adoption are endorsed by parents. Preferential adoption and child-centered motivation in the absence of fertility problems create a novel family form, which include both biological and adopted children, for almost half the families interviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The farmers' psychological well-being has an impact on the adoption of sustainable farming practices. The key component involves attitude, which transforms covert behaviour into overt action. This study determined the socio-economic variables that influence farmers' attitude towards adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The present study was carried out during 2021-23 in four districts of Manipur state on 320 respondents. In order to gauge the respondents' attitude, an attitude scale was developed. Linear regression model was applied to investigate the variables that explained attitudes of farmers toward the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. The findings of the study revealed that majority of respondents exhibited favourable attitude with an attitude index of 70.96. The variables age, family size, education, experience, landholding, extension contacts, social media, market orientation, product orientation, and risk orientation influenced the farmers' attitudes toward adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. Developing a feedback channel for farmers to discuss their experiences and difficulties on adoption of technology and formation of farmer's cooperatives are imperative for bringing improvement in the farmers' attitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author is a qualified and experienced counsellor who has been working with people around issues of adoption for over 25 years. He has worked as a therapist with adopted adults, adoptive parents and birth parents whose children have been adopted. The case studies presented here are of three mothers who made the hugely difficult and life changing decision not to parent their babies, but instead to place them for adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic relatedness figures heavily in contemporary ethical debates on egg freezing, although the arguments lack empirical‐based evidence. Rather than adding another theoretical view on the moral relevance of genetic connections, this paper instead proposes an empirically grounded perspective based on two independent qualitative interview‐based studies conducted in Belgium and France. Three themes emerge from our empirical data: (1) prioritizing family building; (2) centering the gestational experience of motherhood; and (3) identifying the complexities and limitations of adoption. These themes suggest that the relationship between egg freezing, genetics, biological motherhood, and adoption is highly complex and less straightforward than what is often assumed in the egg freezing debate. Our study provides more detailed insights into women's ambivalent experiences regarding those reproductive options. We discuss the ethical implications of our empirical findings and hold that pursuing genetic desire is not necessarily the main moral reason why women freeze their eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to explore the lived experience of fertile Iranian mothers who adopted children. In a qualitative phenomenological method, 13 participants were selected by purposive sampling and interviewed in depth. Data were analyzed by Colaizzi's method. The results showed that although adoption was reported to be a positive experience for most mothers, it is still a kind of social stigma in Iran, and adoptive mothers face many challenges due to insufficient support and help from society and families. Also, the results will help professionals design pre-adoption interventions, prevent the termination of adoption, and help adoptive mothers solve their issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature emphasizes that motivations for having a child are an important factor in mother-child adaptation post-adoption. Unfortunately, there are no instruments on motivations to have a child adapted to this population that can contribute to new evidence with quantitative research. Therefore, this paper aimed to adapt and investigate evidence of validity and reliability of the MCS scale (Brenning et al., 2015) within a sample of expectant adoptive mothers. The transcultural adaptation followed eight rigorous steps, including experts, focus groups, back-translation, and a pilot study conducted with biological mothers and soon-to-be adoptive mothers. For evidence of reliability, the scale was applied to a sample of 267 women waiting to adopt a child, with an average age of 38.7 years. The five-factor structure was confirmed, and the factors correlated as in a continuum, supporting the Self-Determination Theory. The MCS is valid and reliable for assessing the quality and intensity of the motivation to have a child in Brazil and in the context of adoptive motherhood, and it is suitable for future empirical research and practical application. Highlights: This study validated the MCS scale to the context of adoptive motherhood and, by doing so, provided an efficient tool for future empirical research. The MCS scale has good psychometric properties for use in Brazil in the context of soon-to-be adoptive mothers. The five-factor structure was confirmed, supporting the Self Determination Theory in this sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female survivors of young adult (YA) cancers are at risk of fertility impacts following cancer treatment. For these women, fertility-related distress is both prevalent and persistent. Yet there is little research regarding survivors' perspectives on alternative family-building options, particularly adoption. This exploratory secondary data analysis analyzed semistructured interviews and explored survivors' views of adoption. Overall, female YA survivors reported openness to adoption as a possible substitute for biological conception and an alternative to fertility preservation. It is imperative that this population receives support in decision-making around and consideration of the unique barriers to adoption for cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birth parents are the most stigmatized and least researched part of the adoption triad and they experience microaggressions from a number of sources. With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, birth parents' needs and stories deserve to be elevated. Using the adoption microaggressions framework, this qualitative study examined birth parents' lived experiences and the microaggressions they have heard and internalized. Microaggressions specific to birth parents and the adoption process were identified. The most frequently occurring microaggressions against birth parents included: Shameful Inadequate, Institutional Microaggressions, and Phantom Birth Parents. Implications for counseling and training are provided for working with members of the adoption triad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A surge in scholarship on minoritised gender and sexual identities has supported the advancement of LGBTQ+ family rights in many developed countries internationally. However, further work is needed to ensure LGBTQ+ families are fully included within integrated care systems. This article presents a subset of empirical findings from a narrative inquiry conducted in the United Kingdom. Eight LGBTQ+ participants were interviewed about their experiences and perspectives on adoption, fostering and birth children. Findings indicate that social work has a key role in addressing the cisgenderism prevalent in services, to enhance inclusivity within integrated care systems that support LGBTQ+ family life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in biology education offers transformative potential, yet teacher preparedness for AI remains under-researched. This study explores the perceived benefits of AI integration and self-reported Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) among pre-service biology teachers from a South African university (n = 62) and an Indonesian university (n = 51). Using a comparative survey design, data were collected via an online questionnaire. Indonesian participants reported higher Technological Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge levels, though both groups viewed AI integration positively, with no significant differences in perceived benefits. Among Indonesian participants, Technological Knowledge strongly correlated with perceived benefits, especially for peer collaboration. These findings highlight the importance of tailored teacher training and equitable technological resource allocation to enhance AI integration in biology education. The study underscores the critical role of technological and pedagogical knowledge in fostering positive attitudes toward AI adoption in diverse educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mandated health insurance coverage for expensive in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment varies widely in generosity across the US states. We find that more generous coverage within the states that mandate any coverage causes a greater incidence of multiple births, which are costly and can be risky. While more generosity is associated with fewer embryos transferred, this effect is outweighed by greater overall utilization of IVF. In addition, more generous coverage is associated with differences in the composition of patients, where more older women with lower fertility pursue treatment. This is mirrored by lower rates of child adoption by older women in those states. Utilization and compositional effects imply that increased access without regulation might impose additional burdens on the health-care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on grounded theory research with parents who brought children into their lives in non-traditional ways, this article considers how three UK-based single adoptive parents navigate a complex set of risks, benefits and limitations as they construct mutually beneficial connections, friendships and support networks online. The discussion draws on media scholarship suggesting that, in response to contemporary norms of constant connection, digital availability and online context 'collapse', many internet users appropriate the affordances of online platforms and technologies to maintain personal boundaries and keep social groups apart. I argue that such tight context control can be particularly important for single adoptive parents, whose children are often vulnerable in multiple ways, who continue to face social stigma and misunderstanding, and for whom privacy can be vital to their families' safety and wellbeing. The article pays particular attention to single adopters' strategic deployment of three interconnected practices for managing and curating their networks and information sharing: compartmentalisation, selective sharing and disengagement. As well as pointing to similarities between participants' practices, the article considers how the nuances of their individual circumstances shape and influence their ways of both connecting with, and disconnecting from, a range of individuals, groups and networks. Plain Language Summary: This article presents results from a UK study looking at ways in which single, LGBTQ+ and adoptive parents use digital media in their everyday lives. It uses three case studies to explore the experiences of single adoptive mothers specifically, as a group who make up a significant proportion of adoptive parents in the UK, and whose families may be vulnerable in more ways than one. The case studies show how single adopters can use digital media to nurture targeted connections that are intimate and supportive, in part through disconnecting from those that are counter-productive or unhelpful. The article concludes with some key recommendations for practitioners who work with adoptive parents, particularly those with additional vulnerabilities such as single adopters or adopters of disabled children. I suggest, on the one hand, that practitioners can facilitate personalised, targeted support by signposting carers to appropriate digital resources, or supporting the creation of social media networks, for example via Facebook groups. On the other hand, the case studies highlight some disadvantages and difficulties associated with community-driven support through social media platforms. I therefore suggest that some caution is needed around the recommendations that are made, depending on individual families' needs and circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate factors that obstruct and facilitate the use of the foster parent and special adoption systems (i.e., foster systems) by cancer survivors, and examine how to effectively provide information. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that compared the results of a questionnaire survey of foster parents and adoptive parents (i.e., foster parents) who were and were not cancer survivors belonging to foster parent associations in 33 locations in Japan. This study was supported by a 2022 Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant No. 20EA1004). Results: "Lack of information," an obstructive factor and "Sympathetic understanding and cooperation from my partner and family," a facilitative factor were the highest score in both groups. Significant differences between the two groups were found in "Support from government agencies and others for foster parents," a facilitative factor, which was lower in the cancer survivors' group. There were no other significant differences between both the groups. Conclusion: This study found that when considering the use of the foster systems, a lack of information was the biggest obstructive factor and family understanding was the most helpful for both cancer survivors and noncancer groups. It was thought that stronger government support for cancer survivors might encourage cancer survivors to consider becoming foster parents. It would be effective for cancer treatment facilities, reproductive medical facilities, the government, and foster parent associations to work together to provide information carefully to cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sadly, a large percentage of children in the UK who need adoptive/foster/kinship families have experienced intra-family abuse and trauma. This relational trauma is complex and extremely difficult for children who have experienced it. Being hurt by the very people who are supposed to protect and care for them has a profound impact on how they see themselves and how they view others around them. Even babies placed with new families straight from hospital may have experienced harm whilst in the womb. All of these experiences impact children and mean those parenting them have to think differently about how they parent. Providing children with consistent safe nurturing relationships can provide multiple benefits for young people throughout their life; however this is not straightforward and often requires support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparing children for adoption is one of the major goals of the child welfare system. Research on adoption preparation has mainly focused on the perspective of adults, and studies addressing the views of children eligible for adoption are meagre. This study aimed to contribute to filling this gap by exploring the child's perspective on adoption and preparation for adoption. Twenty children aged 9–13 years old (seven girls) and living in residential care institutions, participated in three semi‐structured focus group interviews. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three major themes: understanding of adoption, challenges associated with adoption and preparation and other factors that facilitate adoption. The results suggest that children perceive adoption as an opportunity for a better life that involves challenges such as navigating ambivalence, distancing from biological parents and anticipated risks. Preparation for adoption is key to overcome the expected difficulties. We discussed these results considering the importance of prioritizing children's best interests and exploring practical applications of incorporating their perspectives in adoption preparation. Addressing the views of children eligible for adoption may contribute to promoting the quality of child‐centred care in adoption preparation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examines the child's place in the foster family through the use of conventional names for familial figures (e.g., 'mum/dad') and through the foster parents' intention to adopt the child. Data were collected at two time points during childhood and adolescence, among children placed in kinship and non‐kinship foster care in Norway. Children placed at a younger age and children in non‐kinship foster care were more likely to call their foster parents for 'mum/dad'. Children placed at an older age and children in non‐kinship care were more often presented as 'foster child' by their foster parents. Only 25%–34% of foster parents reported having considered adoption. The most common reason for not considering adoption was that they already deemed to be a family. The use of conventional names for familial figures in foster families might not necessarily reflect the child's integration into a foster family as it seems to be related to the age of the child at placement rather than to the duration of placement. Intention to adopt was relatively low, mostly because foster parents considered adoption as not necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined Italian adoptive mothers' perspective about Adoptee Searching for their Origins. 37 adoptive mothers were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed through an automated method for content analysis combining a combining Cluster Analysis and Correspondence Analysis. In their whole the results highlight the difficulty encountered by mothers who seem to chase a model of family normality rather than confront the specificity of their own family history. Beyond the results, the research work suggests professionals to support adoptive families in their life path, recognizing their specificity as a way to favor the integration of their children in a long-life perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores mental health struggles experienced by international adoptees. A series of 26 qualitative retrospective interviews with international adoptees in Norway, aged 21–34 at the time of interview, shows how a considerable number of these adoptees experienced profound mental health issues, particularly depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that struggles relating to mental health are strongly associated with the challenge of constructing a sense of identity, the lack of a sense of belonging, and grieving for adoption-related losses. The adoptees with these struggles also tended to lack narrative agency—the ability and opportunity to change and influence one's own life course. This research has implications for policy and practice in the sense that adoptees' self-reports of mental health struggles, and their link to adoption-specific issues of identity and belonging, demonstrate the need for post-adoption services tailored to supporting adoptees in the construction of a secure sense of identity and belonging. Post-adoption support can help to reduce the risk of rumination over adoption-related questions in solitude and, as such, contribute to protecting the mental health of adoptees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is no general theory of rehabilitation, only definitions and descriptions, with the biopsychosocial model of illness as a structure. Objective: To develop a general theory of rehabilitation that explains how healthcare rehabilitation changes outcomes and to evaluate its validity. Need: A general rehabilitation theory would help research, improve services, increase understanding, modify resource allocation and explain some anomalies, such as how rehabilitation helps when no natural recovery occurs. Building blocks: People adapt to change throughout their lives. Illness is a change, and people adapt to their illness. Adaptation's purpose is to maintain an equilibrium in a person's life. The balanced components are related to Maslow's five needs: basic, safety, affiliation, status and self-fulfilment. The general theory of behaviour suggests that a person's behaviours change to maintain balance, regulated by a central homeostatic mechanism. The theory: Rehabilitation aids adaptation to changes associated with illness through accurate diagnosis and formulation, catalysing adaptation, optimising the environment and assisting the person in making necessary changes by safely practising activities and teaching self-management. Implications: The theory makes the person the central active agent, emphasises the importance of the environment in facilitating adaptation, explains why all conditions may benefit, including progressive and static conditions, suggests that health can be equated to someone maintaining their equilibrium and explains why a small dose may be very effective. Conclusion: The general theory of rehabilitation emphasises the catalytic effects of rehabilitation in facilitating and guiding adaptation and suggests areas for research and improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature reveals the multifaceted experiences of the biologically related children of parents in adoptive families, or adoptive siblings. Adoptive siblings report a range of positive and negative experiences related to adoption. Some adoptive siblings describe their families as fractured or broken after adoption while others describe adoption as bringing their families closer together. Because of the range of experiences expressed, the current study examines specific factors to determine what is related to or affects adoptive sibling's view of their family relationships. Results of this study revealed that no specific family factors were significantly related to adoptive sibling's views; however, adoptive siblings who reported being in families that talked openly and honestly about their thoughts and feelings reported increased family connection and satisfaction and increased sibling closeness with their adopted sibling. These findings elicit further understanding of the adoptive sibling experience and include clinical implications for supporting adoptive families post-adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study presents the results of a qualitative investigation into the perspectives of mothers who have adopted children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Nine mothers, recruited via convenience and snowball sampling, participated in semi-structured interviews via videoconference technology. The interviews were transcribed and coded for thematic analysis. Parent perspectives on the following topics were analyzed: motivation, reaction to identification, communication and technology decisions, language, services pre- and post-adoption, others' reactions, expectations, race and ethnicity, and attachment and adjustment. Based on thematic analysis of the participants' responses, key themes and implications for professional practice are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the mutual benefit of adoption, due to the adverse attitude related to the barriers perceived by the couples, some people are not interested in adoption. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to measure attitudes toward child adoption. Materials and Methods: This secondary analysis is part of a larger study on 178 infertile couples referring to the Afzalipour Infertility Center in Kerman, Iran. Factor Analysis (FA) was performed. The sampling was conducted using the convenience sampling method. The questionnaire was implemented using a mixed-method approach in three phases. Firstly, a pool was created. The second phase involved content validity. Lastly, construct validity was conducted. Results: The final version of the questionnaire with 20 questions had a total Cronbach's alpha of 0.70%. Six factors with eigenvalues of higher than 1.00 were extracted, which accounted for 52% of the total variance. These factors were "spiritual–psychological status of the new parents," "psychological status of the adopted child," "undesirable behaviors of others in the future," "anxiety of the new parents," "physical–behavioral characteristics of the adopted child," and "socio-economic factors." The model extracted from the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The 6-factor structure adequately fitted the data (Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.93; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.047; X2/df = 1.393; p = 0.002. Conclusions: The internal consistency and construct validity of the questionnaire were confirmed. This instrument can be used in clinical and research practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single parent adoption (SPA) is a relatively new construct worldwide and in India. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, has laid down criteria for adoption in general and SPA in particular, in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children), 2015. There is scant literature on this topic of SPA, more so in India, that looks into the various psychological nuances of SPA from a mental health professional's (MHP) perspective. This review paper aims to assess SPA from the perspective of a MHP that will focus on its various legal nuances as well as the psychological connotations attached to it. For this, a search strategy was employed that included a thorough literature search from two databases (PubMed and Google Scholar) with relevant keywords related to the topic. The various legal issues pertaining to SPA in the current scenario, the psychological issues and challenges faced by single parents, the behavioral outcomes of adoptees who are adopted by single parents, and ways to deal with the various obstacles of SPA are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I seek to depict in a relatively grounded way the form and character of social work practice under a late colonial regime. The article draws from an archival study of the development of social welfare in Singapore as a British colony, in the late colonial period from the end of Japanese occupation in 1945 through to final independence in 1965. In exploring social welfare in late colonial regimes, I take adoption as an illuminating example. I refer to the significance of private markets in adoption, the Chinese kinship system as it was at the time, and the cultural significance of mui tsai. I suggest that we should conclude that colonial governmental regimes were not monochrome, and that the tenor of late colonial welfare practices and policies should not be regarded as set on a unilinear course of modernisation. Taken as a whole, the historical material points to the need for a form of imperial social work research – and of imperial social work as such – that avoids the assumption, perhaps too evident in social work writing, 'that all they needed to know about colonialism was its horrors' (Cooper). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single adoptive parents and their adoptees who transition into adolescence are likely to face several challenges. This article reports the impact of a WhatsApp-based spiritual education lessons (SEL) intervention on bolstering parenting competencies and secure attachments of single adoptive parents-adoptee adolescent dyads (Npre-test = 86; Npost-test = 76). An active control group based experimental design was used with WhatsApp-based general posts as the control condition. Parenting competencies were assessed pre- and post-test by the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) and Me as a Parent Scale (MaaP) and adolescent attachment outcomes were assessed by the Friends and Family Interview (FFI). Results supported the intervention and the SEL posts had greater impact on mother-daughter dyads, middle class, ever-single adoptive parents, highly qualified, professionals-salaried, and whose intervention compliance was higher. Actor-partner interdependence models indicated that single adoptive parents' and adoptee adolescents' outcomes were mutually associated. Latent class analysis suggested an eight-latent-class model of participant clusters likely to gain more from the SEL intervention, which included: adoptee female adolescents-ever-single adoptive female parents, adoptee male adolescents-ever-single adoptive female parents, middle class, highly qualified, professional-salaried, and who complied with the intervention by reading posts and completing homework above the recommended threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic, according to the various periods of emergency and the rate of infections, hospitalized subjects also contracted the infection within the ward, sometimes with the development of disease (COVID-19) and sometimes with permanent damage. The authors wondered if Sars-Cov-2 infection should be considered on a par with other infections acquired in the healthcare setting. The non-diversified diffusion between the health and non-health sectors, the ubiquity of the virus and the high contagiousness, together with the factual inability to prevent it by the health structures, despite the adoption of entry control, practices of isolation of positive subjects, and staff surveillance, lead to consider COVID-19 in a different way, in order to otherwise burden health structures in the face of unmanageable risks, clearly also dependent on exogenous and uncontrollable factors. The guarantee of care safety must, in the pandemic, be able to compare with the real capacity for intervention according to the asset of the current health service, requesting State intervention with alternative instruments, such as una tantum compensation, for COVID-19 damage reparation occurred in the health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the case concerned an appeal by a Health and Social Care Trust against the decision of Judge Larkin to refuse an application by the Trust for an order freeing Joy, a five year-old child, for adoption pursuant to Article 18 of the Adoption Order 1987. Topics include considered that the court was assembled to provide reasons for reaching the decision it did and to reiterate some important points pertaining to good practice.

The profound and lasting impact of losing a child to adoption or foster care has been powerfully described, and the importance of offering therapeutic support to birth relatives is a requirement in most parts of the UK. However, little is known about effective counselling for this group. In this article, we report on the experiences of four counsellors and a project worker who offer counselling to birth relatives whose children have been removed following care proceedings. We present their reflections under four themes, namely: 'It's all about the person, it's all about the relationship'; 'Meeting clients where they are'; 'Having a sense of achievement'; and 'This work can really get into you'. These accounts offer valuable reflections for others offering counselling to birth relatives and their supervisors, as well as those who commission and design these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, we coded the types and community prevalence of racial microaggressions (RMAs) and adoption microaggressions (AMAs) experienced and reported by White adoptive families with children adopted from China. Analyses examined differences in microaggressions reported by transracial adoptive families living in communities varying in racial-ethnic diversity. All families experienced RMAs and/or AMAs. Community diversity was only related to the number of RMAs experienced, and specific microaggressions were significantly related to diversity level. Parents' interpretation of microaggressions differed based on diversity level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about adoptees' experiences through adulthood. Individuals sometimes make sense of their heritage, and come to understand and express themselves in their unique voices, through storytelling. Five mother-child(ren) dyads and triads participated. The mothers had been adopted in infancy and raised by an adoptive family. Their biological child(ren) had grown up aware their mother was an adoptee. The feminist relational method of the listening guide (Gilligan et al., 2003) was employed to hear the adoption stories passed from one generation to the next. Parent and adult child(ren) were interviewed together to explore voices embedded in the relational context of their story. The joint family interviews were analyzed for these different voices. The findings suggest mothers passed down stories of positive adoption experiences through voices that were both embracing of their adoption narrative and sometimes cautious. The children spoke from voices of embrace and curiosity. Both generations stated the meaningfulness of co-constructing family adoption narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces a special issue of Adoption Quarterly focusing on the complex developmental pathways of adoptees across various adoption types, highlighting the need for specialized clinical approaches. It also discusses the importance of understanding different adoption contexts, the impact of adoption on identity formation, and the unique considerations for working with adopted adolescents and young adults.

The research presented is a qualitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a multi-methodological structure. The sample is composed by 25 prospective adoptive parents couples (n = 50 subjects) who show an initial interest in adoption. The research results indicate that the representation by the prospective adoptive parents is a crucial one, in many cases characterized by a significant negativity or ambivalence as well as the child's and his pre-adoptive history representation. So, it is important to deepen not only the topic of family of origin, but also its associated topics like child history and child history representation during the assessment and training of prospective adoptive couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of adoption breakdown have often been underestimated in international adoption. While several relevant studies have been published in Spain, there is no research addressing this issue in the autonomous community of Catalonia, which has been one of the main centers of international adoption in Spain since the 1990s. Our research provides specific data on this phenomenon and identifies the significant and critical variables contributing to adoption breakdown, by analyzing all the case files on failed adoption between 1998 and 2014: 1883 documents, corresponding to a total of 74 children and 62 families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopted adults are presented in the literature as being particularly vulnerable from a mental health and attachment perspective. This could affect their experience of romantic relationships. To our knowledge, however, no data directly concerning adoptees' partners are currently available. We then explored their conjugal and coparenting experiences and attitude toward their partner's adoption through semistructured interviews with 10 partners of adoptees, and submitted their responses to thematic analysis software. We then assessed their attachment, dyadic coping and coparenting using standardized scales. Results revealed highly contrasting experiences. Although the participants showed normal scores for all scales and although half of the sample did not consider their partner's adoption as risk factor, for a few participants adoption was a source of marital conflict, particularly around the issues related to the search for origins. Future research should examine dyadic issues such as the search for origins and choice of partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Human–dog relationships are mainly focused on the physical and emotional wellbeing, and has much evolved in the last decades, becoming even more intense over time. Such a novel conception should also be applied to the life that takes place in kennels, which have been mistakenly regarded as a landfill or a burden on society for too many years. Here, we took into consideration an Italian shelter, and analyzed 555 adopted dogs who underwent a well-detailed behavioral training program, to assess the potential impact of the education upon the adoption of attitude. We documented a higher increase in the number of adoptions both for adult and senior animals when compared to the age-matched untrained dogs. Collectively, our data highlight the importance of a proper training, mainly accomplished with reward methods, to get a more suitable and balanced owner-dog attachment. One of the main concerns of the human–dog relationship is today associated with the quality life inside the kennels, which are very often regarded as animal dump where dogs are exiled, representing a burden on society. In the present study we sought to investigate the importance of performing an appropriate behavioral program on the adoption chances within an Italian shelter, near Naples (Ottaviano). In this respect, we enrolled 555 adopted dogs of different ages, who followed a tailored-4-month lasting training program between 2018 and 2020. Once entered there, they were carefully examined by the veterinary behaviorist, and directed towards a suited training program, to improve living conditions. We documented a higher number of both adult and senior dogs who left the kennel and were adopted, compared to the age-matched untrained animals (n = 479), housed in the same kennel from 2015 to 2017. Taken together, the present data highlight an important role for training in improving the natural attitudes of the companion dogs, thus pointing towards a better human–animal bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoptive families must navigate public discourse about adoption. This study examined how transracial adoptive (TRA) and same-race adoptive (SRA) families communicated to their children through internal boundary management, teaching external boundary management strategies, and preparation for bias as ways to address adoption microaggressions (AMAs). 104 U.S. adoptive parents (TRA = 77; SRA = 27) completed a survey about their communication about four types of AMA situations (i.e., Lucky, Destiny, "Deficient" Birth Parents, Search). What parents directly communicated to the child to address these AMAs and links to what parents thought of AMAs were explored. Nine themes emerged within parents' communication reflecting different uses of internal boundary management, teaching external boundary management, and preparation for bias strategies. Findings illuminated the complexities in parents' direct communication involving nuanced messages to adopted children about navigating AMAs. Enhanced education and training for adoptive parents can improve their understanding and ability to help children who are adopted address adoption bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a relational dialectics analysis of 259 Chinese birth planning policy propaganda. We identified a coalition of five discourses animating the texts. We found the coalition created conditions of monologic wholeness, characterized by simultaneous dialogic expansion and dialogic contraction. Dialogic expansion promised a utopic, future China in exchange for birth parents' childbirth sacrifices and creation of a generation of superior-quality singleton Chinese children. Dialogic contraction reified superior-quality singletons as irrefutable antecedent for China's modernization. This study holds both academic and practical significance. Academically, this study accelerates family communication's critical theoretical turn, highlights complexities of studying monologue, expands the area's dataset boundaries, and furthers diversity efforts. Practically, this study promises transformation of acontextual Western perspectives on China's birth planning program. The study's non-Western perspective is timely, given increasing momentum within the Chinese transnational adoption birth family search and reunion movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of qualitative research conducted with 20 adoptees, specifically the experiences of four French adoptees from Romania, who discovered significant irregularities in their adoptions. In the form of four ethnographic cases followed by a discussion, it describes the adoptees' bewilderment at their pre-adoptive trajectories and discusses the absence of collective frameworks and narratives in France through which they could apprehend their individual trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on children orphaned due to pandemics like the Covid-19 and the Spanish Flu of 1918-1920. Topics discussed include estimated number of children who have lost a parent to the infection since the coronavirus disease pandemic began, according to the Covid-19 Orphanhood Calculator, impact of influenza on immigrant life, and psychological crisis affecting bereaved children caused by influenza.

Parents (N = 166) in transracial, international adoptive (TIA) families with children from China or Vietnam were surveyed to investigate their experiences with privacy turbulence surrounding the family’s private, adoptionrelated information. About half described at least one instance of privacy turbulence, with a total of 98 instances. The instances included examples of all six types of privacy turbulence described in Communication Privacy Management theory, but two of those types, namely boundary rule mistakes and boundary definition predicaments, accounted for 90% of the instances of turbulence. Evidence of explicit rules and catalyst criteria for rule formation in the turbulence descriptions suggest ways that TIA parents might be able to avoid or manage privacy turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article defines transition to adoptive parenthood and identifies associated experiences and challenges, when becoming parents by adoption. Topics covered include the importance of understanding antecedents of transition to adoptive parents, conceptualization of transition to adoptive parenthood and the consequences of transition to adoptive parenthood.

This small‐scale qualitative study explored how qualified person‐centred counsellors who were adopted as a baby perceived the impact of their person‐centred counselling training. The study focused on the adoptees' experiences of adoption and how these influenced their experience of person‐centred counselling training. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis to gain insight into how the participants made sense of their lived experience. The findings supported the difficulties associated with adoption, which not only are present in existing literature and research but also placed an emphasis on the particular vulnerabilities associated with being adopted as a baby. The findings further highlighted the positive impact of person‐centred counselling training on the participants' personal development, which included the following: increased self‐awareness, self‐acceptance, identity development and 'having a voice'. The findings confer implications for clinical practice in understanding the experience of adoptees who were adopted as a baby and for trainers in the planning and provision of person‐centred training. The research also identifies the healing aspects of person‐centred counselling training, which facilitated the participants' positive self‐development. In addition, unique opportunities for counsellors who were also adopted as a baby are suggested and the need for the Adoption Support Fund to be extended to allow an adoptee of any age to access therapeutic support is also identified. The links made between adoption and person‐centred training are an original area of research and are worthy of further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annually, hundreds of African infants are abandoned in South Africa and become adoptable because rigorous efforts to trace their parents and family members are unsuccessful. Although domestic adoption is prioritised in terms of legislation, policy and practice, most abandoned children's right to be permanently raised in a loving family is not being realised. The most promising source of potential adopters is black South Africans, but the number of black adopters is ever declining. To investigate factors affecting black South African's decision-making regarding the legal adoption of abandoned children, a post-graduate study was undertaken. Thirty-nine black adults participated in the study consisting of adopters, adoption applicants in the screening process, potential adopters that did not enter the screening process, adoption of social workers and citizens. The theory emerging derived from concurrent data gathering and analysis as set out by Corbin and Strauss is: 'Tensions surrounding adoption policy and practice, and perceptions and experiences of adoption'. This article focuses on a main category of this grounded theory; that African ancestral beliefs and modern Christian beliefs can both reinforce and discourage adoption abandoned children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoptees are studied more as children than as adults. While there is nevertheless a large body of research on adopted adults, little of this has focused on the families they build. Adoptees' parenthood has been particularly neglected. The few studies conducted on this subject up to now all had serious methodological flaws, and were not interested in adoptees who either refuse to become parents or, at the other extreme, invest massively in parenthood. In the present study, our objective was therefore to better understand the experience and determinants of two specific attitudes toward parenthood among adoptees: refusal and massive investment. We carried out semistructured interviews with 13 adopted adults who held just such attitudes toward parenthood. The interview transcripts were submitted to a thematic analysis using QDA Miner 5 software. This analysis shed light on the experiences of adoptees who either refuse parenthood (satisfaction, parenting by proxy, views on child adoption) or invest massively in it (parenting style, desire for children, difficulties encountered), as well as on the determinants of these positions (impact of adoptee status, relationships with adoptive parents and with partners). These results enhance current understanding of the potential distress of adoptees regarding parenthood, as well as the challenges that this life stage can pose for them and their children. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]