Social stigma and international adoption in Spain: Is the adoptive family a less ‘authentic’ (family) model than those based on biological ties?

Abstract

In Spain, the phenomenon of international adoptions began in the nineties, becoming the second country in the world in number of international adoptions in 2004. With the aim of increasing knowledge about the international adoptive Spanish family, the computer-assisted online survey Adoptive families and their lifestyles was distributed. From the responses given by 230 adoptive mothers and fathers, the socio-demographic profile of adoptive Spanish families becomes visible. These families are characterized for having parents with a high educational level, who do not ascribe to any religion, defend left-wing politics, and share a system of postmodern values regarding the family institution. The identification of the family structure according to the type of alliance (two-parent family or single-parent family) and type of filiation (adoptive or mixed) allows us to place contemporary adoption as an option of chosen filiation, and not only and exclusively as an alternative to the impossibility of having biological children. In addition, the results derived from the survey allow us to delve deeper into one of the least tackled aspects in the sociological study of the adoptive family: the role of social attitudes towards adoption and their impact on the adoptive family. Most of the survey respondents are aware of the stigma their adoptive family represents, since from their point of view, society considers them as a less satisfactory form of family than those based on biological bonds.