“We wanted a forever family”: Altruistic, individualistic, and motivated reasoning motivations for adoption among LGBTQ individuals

The purpose of this study was to explore motivations for adoption among a diverse sample of LGBTQ adoptive parents and prospective adopters (n = 366), who were recruited through a U.K. network of LGBTQ adoptive and foster families to complete an online survey. Quantitative analysis showed that the majority did not think that being LGBTQ would negatively influence their experience of adopting, although they were evenly split regarding the expectation of whether they would be matched with a harder-to-place child. To explore LGBTQ parents’ motivations for adoption, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data was conducted. One overarching theme was identified Seeking permanency, together with three often closely related subthemes: Altruistic/Moral motivation, Individualistic/Intrinsic motivation, and Motivated reasoning. The findings reflect important changes in U.K. law since the Adoption and Children Act in 2002 permitted same-gender couples to adopt. We suggest ways to inform the recruitment of potential LGBTQ adoptive parents

It takes a village: How organizational support for adoption positively affects employees and their families

Extending the integration of conservation of resources theory with the spillover–crossover model, we broaden the scope of types of organizational support by examining the influence of organizational support for adoption (OSFA) as a work resource that could benefit employees, their spouse, and their adopted child. Specifically, we examine how this resource of OSFA contributes to job incumbent work–family enrichment (WFE) and indirectly to a work outcome (i.e., affective commitment) and spills over to impact family outcomes (i.e., attachment, relationship tension, and family functioning). Further, we examine the crossover to the spouse through positive crossover transmission to his/her commitment to the job incumbent’s organization and his/her family outcomes. Using a matched sample of 592 couples that had adopted a child, we found that the resource of OSFA indirectly influences the job incumbent’s work and family outcomes as expected. Further, we found OSFA indirectly influences the spouse’s commitment to the job incumbent’s organization and the spouse’s family outcomes through WFE and positive crossover transmission. Evidence of the content and construct validity of OSFA is also presented. Implications, both theoretical and practical, and suggestions for future research are discussed