Satisfaction of Italian parents with inter-country adoption: The support of specialised operators

Abstract

This study investigates the satisfaction of Italian adoptive parents with their experience and the support by specialised operators (i.e., accredited bodies and local public social services) using the survey data of 280 adoptive families. Inter-country adoption is a voluntary family choice. Italians welcomed an impressive number of children between 2003 and 2017 and are very satisfied with their experience. This research results show that the satisfaction of parents is strongly influenced by the (young) age of the adoptee and of the mother and by the professional support provided by specialised social workers belonging to private accredited bodies or a local public social service. These results are in line with the literature, according to which a younger child provides higher satisfaction to parents if parents are informed about the challenges of their parental experience by professional social workers. In such case, their self-confidence increases and is associated with feelings of satisfaction. Although referring to a limited sample of families, these results create new developments in the literature on inter-country children's adoption in Italy. Implications of results are provided for all social workers, juvenile courts, and the government.