Family resources in the transition to adoption: introduction to the Special Section

Abstract

Adoption is an event that usually takes place on one specific day: the day of the first meeting between adoptive parents and child, a day which is often celebrated annually by the family. But from a psychological point of view, the construction of the adoptive bond is a process that begins long before the first meeting and continues long afterward. In fact, one speaks of ‘transition’ to adoption precisely to indicate that adoption is a process that takes place over an extended period of time; indeed, it is a lifelong process (Cigoli & Scabini, 2006). Moreover, the adoption experience is not limited to the child and the parents, but involves the entire family and social context. It represents a community response to the problem of abandoned children and sterility, and provides a singular way to become a part of the family and part of the family lineage. The bond that is gradually built between the parents and the child has been called the ‘adoptive pact’ (Greco & Rosnati, 1998): it is a curious and unique amalgam of needs, expectations and the personal histories of all those who enter into the contract – the child, the couple, and the parents’ extended families. The pact’s outcome is not simply the reciprocal satisfaction of needs: it involves more than merely subtracting deficiencies (the lack of children for the adoptive couple and the lack of a family for the child) from, and adding resources to, the family equation. To be constructive, the pact has to assimilate these reciprocal deficiencies and transform them into a generative commitment of which both parents and children are part. Generativity was defined by Erik Erikson as the determining feature of adulthood (Erikson, 1968). It refers to those actions of care and concern, expressed through parenting, teaching, and leadership, through professional or artistic ‘products’, and through voluntary work: in other words, all actions and commitments which are aimed at implementing the well-being of future generations (Marta, Lanz, & Tagliabue, 2012; McAdams & de St. Aubin, 1992). Generativity is seen as being on the opposite end of the spectrum from Stagnation, which refers to remain self-centered the retreat into oneself. In other words, those who are successful during this phase are committed beyond self; they feel that they contribute to the world by being active in their home and community, and are able to open their horizons to the future. In the literature different types and shapes of generativity have been identified (Kotre & Kotre, 1998; Snarey & Clark, 1998): biological generativity, which refers to giving birth to a child and providing the necessary care for basic need for child growth; parental generativity, that is caring for one’s own child, promoting his/her development and identity and transmitting family values and traditions; and social generativity, which encompasses the sense of responsibility and commitment to fostering the growth and the well-being not only of one’s own children, but also of the next generations. Adoption takes its place in the intersection between the latter two dimensions, parental and social generativity, as it implies the rearing of and caring for a child born of other parents, with no genetic connections, as the adoptive couple’s own. It is the psychological relationship built and rebuilt day by day that will sustain the parent–child bond and replace the missing link of the genetic chain. Adoption implies that a new member is now included within the family network, lineage, and intergenerational history: while the child’s different origin and past history must be fully acknowledged, the adoptive child becomes part of the adoptive family and gives it continuity, integrating his or her origins as a new chapter of the family history (Cigoli & Scabini, 2006). Indeed, the aim of the adoptive transition is the creation of a reciprocal familial bond, assuming the child’s difference and actively bringing it into the family context: indeed, adoption is accompanied by the granting of a surname, an act which, by its very nature, brings the adoptive child into the multi-generational family history. Therefore, the challenge families have to cope with in the construction of their adoptive pact concerns the way in which they face the issues of differences and of reciprocal belonging (Rosnati, 2005). Similarities and differences are the two bases upon which the adoptive bond is built. In other words, the developmental task is to create the family