Adoption and Significant-Others: Understanding the Normative Pressure Perceived by Adoptive Parents

Adoption is one of the ways to experience parenting for infertile couples. Despite the demographic importance of adoption, the social research in Iran has paid little attention to its dimensions so far. The present study uses Grounded Theory methodology and in-depth interview with 15 adoptive mothers in the city of Yazd to explore the normative pressure perceived by adoptive parents in interaction with significant others. The data were analyzed using open, axial and selective coding and presented in the storyline (including 12 main categories and one core category) and paradigm model. According to the findings, the research phenomenon is the “anxiety and sympathy” which is made by causal conditions (Permanent infertility, judgement by significant others and significant value of child to give meaning to the life of adaptive parents). In response to this situation, the adoptive families choose one of following strategies: A) situational reaction strategy and B) standing up to all the problems by wearing iron shoes strategy. These strategies have been activated among adoptive families and consequently they may guide similar families for adoption based on their previous experiences. The findings also indicate that most adaptive parents perceive negative emotions resulting from anxieties that they received from significant others. Prejudices by these significant others, lack of social supports by relatives, concerns about the adopted child’s background are among the most important contexts that shape these concerns.