Our world has become starkly inequitable with 0.01% of the population owning 11% of all wealth, 1% owning 38% of all wealth, 10% owning 76% of all wealth, and the lower 50% owning almost nothing. Amongst all of these, there is a group of the most vulnerable, the most underserved, and ironically the most silent because, for the most part, they…

In 1970, as part of an effort to meet the needs of black children waiting for adoption by two-parent black families, the Chicago (Illinois) Child Care Society launched a longitudinal study of the growth, development, and family life of transracial adoptees (TRAs), or black and mixed-race children adopted by white families, and inracial adoptees…

Birthparents are the least studied, understood and served members of the adoption triad. Birthparents are also often the invisible members of the adoption triad. For some this is by preference, and for others this is an artifact of a system that has traditionally required invisibility. This manuscript briefly reviews the limited and…

It is maintained that Great Britain at its very heart is a racist society, in spite of the fact that there has been a permanent black community in Great Britain for 500 years, and members of this commmunity have made positive, productive contributions to British society. In 1731, so many blacks were apprenticed to tradesmen that the Corporation of…

Research on decision making in pregnant adolescents is in its infancy. Most has focused on correlates of the various pregnancy outcomes such as abortion, delivery, parenting one's child, or relinquishing the child for adoption. There is a need to investigate the process of decision making with pregnant adolescents in light of a theory of decision…

Two studies were conducted to evaluate newly developed measures of attitudes about adoption. The Attitudes toward Adoption Scale was developed, based on research literature, to investigate the attitudes of people with and without experience with adoption toward adoption. Eighty-six college students completed this scale and made open-ended comments…

This paper outlines current changes in American adoption practice and the controversies surrounding these changes. It includes a discussion of the role that neo-Kantian and utilitarian perspectives have played in American adoption policy and practice, and offers an alternative, the communitarian perspective, described by Sandel (1984). Adoption…

The issue of whether or not the basic principle guiding the placement of Australian children in need of care is applied in practice is addressed in this expanded seminar paper. It is pointed out that the principle stating that the child's welfare should be of paramount concern has been incorporated into Australian legislation in the Adoption Act…

Background: Adopted children have been said to be difficult children, scarred by their past experiences in maltreating families or neglecting orphanages, or by genetic or pre- and perinatal problems. Is (domestic or international) adoption an effective intervention in the developmental domains of physical growth, attachment security, cognitive…

The effects of teleconference experiences on the types of concerns expressed by teleconference participants after their initial experiences with the medium were examined using a concerns-based adoption model, which allows researchers to assess changes in levels of concerns expressed by individuals as they become more familiar with an innovation.…

Demographic and background characteristics, pre-adoption motivation, and post-adoptive adjustment of 20 British families who had, among them, adopted 23 mentally retarded children were explored through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Children in the sample had been in their adoptive homes an average of 17 months; 48% were under 5…

Noting current estimates that between 4 and 14 million children have lesbian or gay parents and recent research suggesting that most college students are homophobic, this study examined college students' homophobia and attitudes toward adoption. Participating in the study were 96 heterosexual undergraduate education majors at a state college who…

An exploratory study was made to investigate factors possibly related to adoptive families' and adoptive single parents' decisions about participation in a new postplacement support service. Factors under consideration included family background, existing informal supports, attitudes toward mental health professionals, and perceptions of the…

Contents of this keynote address provide current information about services offered by the Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). In fiscal years 1984 and 1985, ACYF will continue with program initiatives to improve the quality and effectiveness of Head Start. In addition, ACYF has established a number of initiatives to help…

This paper explores the principal features of nonlinear dynamical systems and applies the theory to parents' acceptance of a child adopted at an older age. Although family systems theories tend to be weak in addressing family change, chaos theory and catastrophe theory allow consideration of sudden, discontinuous change. If stable, the family may…