Motivational determinants and parental attitudes of a woman in adoption

The research discusses the problem of adoption in modern Russia that is the lack of effective tools for assessing the adoptive parent candidates. Such a tool can prevent the second orphanage. The study draws upon questionnaires that reveal the motivations and parental attitudes of candidates. The author distinguishes four types of motivation for adoption (altruistic, pragmatic, normative, and crisis ones) which help substitute parents build their parental attitudes towards an orphan child. The original questionnaire on the motivation for adoption is based on the above-mentioned types of motivation. The author identifies and analyzes the motivational aspects and parental attitudes of adoptive parents, mothers having two children of their own, women without the experience of motherhood. The research reveals the substantial differences in the general psychological characteristics of adoptive parents and birth mothers and the similar motivations of women without the experience of motherhood and mothers with orphan children.