Whilst adoption is not an uncommon, new, or generally a ‘taboo’ issue, it is subject to pervasive negative stigmas - often based on myths - that can harm the mental health of both the child and their adoptive parents. These false narratives are often based on the assumption of a social construct which implies that ‘real’ = ‘biological’, a microaggression so common it’s often overlooked.
Despite this, studies show that adoptive children are as loved by their parents as biological children are. The ‘Cinderella effect’, or the belief that step/unbiological children are treated worse than biological ones, often perpetuated by fairytale stories, is inapplicable. Love and attachment are not the result of - nor guaranteed by - a biological relation.
Another stigma is that adoption is the second best route, only to be taken after attempting to conceive naturally. The idea that only infertile couples want to adopt is false, as is the idea that no one really wants to build their family through adoption.
Further studies have shown that adoptive parents (both homosexual and heterosexual) and children who internalise these false narratives have a higher chance of being depressed.
All families are valid families, so our society’s attitudes towards adoptive families needs to change.
Written by Imogen Aley
Artwork by Sophia Patterson
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