Determining the problems experienced by families in the pre-and post-adoption period: Qualitative study

Adoption is the establishment of a legal lineage relationship between a child/children who are suitable for adoption and the person/persons who adopt. In our country, lineage relationships are established by court order. In the national adoption system, two concepts emerge: interpersonal adoption and institutional adoption. The institution here is the Ministry of Family and Social Services, which is authorized to support children in need of protection in our country, either with their families or in institutions. The concept of adoption has served different purposes in different geographies, societies and families in terms of its historical development. As a result of these purposes, different fields of study have emerged from the perspectives of human and social sciences, health and law. From past to present, children who were not suitable to live with their biological families were placed with the person/persons who wanted to adopt and continued their lives with different perceptions of values for years. Changing perceptions towards the adopted continue to exist today, considering the best interests of the child. The institution of adoption is directly related to the field of family and child welfare in terms of children in need of protection and the problems experienced by individuals in the situation of having/not having children. It is anticipated that the evaluation of these phenomena from the perspective of social work will contribute to the fields of practice of the profession and the literature with a holistic perspective. In this study, where the qualitative research method was used, institutional adoption procedures were discussed; a 5-question interview was conducted on the pre-adoption period, adoption process, and post-adoption period, and an evaluation was made in line with these headings in the discussion and conclusion sections of the study. The research questions were determined as a result of the literature review, and a total of 16 interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers from the same family. These interviews focused on the methods and results tried on having a child before adoption, factors affecting decision-making processes, difficulties experienced in the adoption process, concerns and expectations, the process with the institution after the adoption application, support sources, problems experienced during the process, changes in life with children, court processes, the presence of developmental or health problems in the child, support sources during the process, and informing the child about adoption.