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Who wants to adopt and who wants to be adopted

A sample of American families and sub-Saharan African orphans

Bibliographic Data

ID11490341
AuthorsChristopher Balding (Peking University, corresponding author), Yan Feng (0000-0003-4436-1126), Feng Yan (0000-0002-7870-2104, Peking University), Armita Atashband (Peking University)
Year2015
Volume30
Issue10
Pages1320-1333
Publication date2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Policy and Planning (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0268-1080 • E-ISSN: 1460-2237
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/heapol/czv002
PMID25769738
OpenAlexW3122752040
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited39

The debate between pro- and anti-international adoption advocates relies heavily on rhetoric and little on data analysis. To better understand the state of orphans and potential adopters in this debate, we utilize the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to study who adopts internationally and the status of orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa. According to NSFG data adopters are church going, highly educated, stable families aware of the challenges faced by international adoption, with high rates of infertility and rates of child abuse half the population average. According to the DHS data, orphans in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from significantly higher deprivation, reduced schooling and increased levels of stunting and underweight reported than their cohort. Using this data, we estimate conservatively that that 1 50 000 orphans from our sample of sub-Saharan African countries died from their 5-year birth cohort. Given the large number of families seeking to adopt and the high number of orphan deaths, it seems counterproductive to restrict international adoptions given the significantly lower risks faced by children in adopted families compared with remaining orphaned.

Cohort · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Family planning · National Survey of Family Growth · Political science · Population · Sample (material) · Sociology · Survey sampling · Underweight · Child Welfare and Adoption · Demography · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

  • Pronatalism in Adoption Seeking

    Elisha Marr•Adoption Quarterly•2026

  • Impact of Christianity and Ancestral Beliefs on Black South Africans’ Decision-Making Regarding the Adoption of Abandoned Children

    Open Access•Priscilla Gerrand, Thobeka S Nkomo et al.•The British Journal of Social Work•2021

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  • Livelihoods, care and the familial relations of orphans in eastern Africa

    T Abebe, Morten Skovdal•AIDS Care•2010

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    Morten Skovdal, Catherine Campbell•Vulnerable Children and Youth…•2010

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  • Beyond preadoptive risk

    Juye Ji, Devon Brooks et al.•American Journal of Orthopsychiatry•2010

  • Beyond the 'Orphan Burden

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    Open Access•George Bicego, Shea Rutstein et al.•Social Science & Medicine•2003

  • Children, Aids and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year0,4
Citation span2021 - 2026 (6)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
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