<p><p>The aim of the study was to illustrate how single parents who want to adopt a child are described in consent investigations made by the social service. The methodology for this study was document analysis. The analysis material consisted of 23 consent investigations from family courts in 12 different municipalities and district administrations. The theoretical starting point of the study was the perspective of social construct of reality. Based on the issues of the study, background on international adoptions, theory of norms and deviation and past research the documents were analyzed. The results showed that the consent investigations were characterized by the social workers double advocacy regarding the prospective parents and the adopted children, usually to the parents’ advantage. The formulation in which the family courts constructed the applicants was almost unilaterally positive. The personality descriptions were one-sided and described the applicants as ideal prospective parents. At the same time the documents tended to describe the single prospective parents as deviations from the norm of the nuclear family. The documents were distinguished by great linguistic range with both detailed politically and morally correct descriptions, as well as vague, value-charged and affective formulations.</p></p>

The aim of the study was to illustrate how single parents who want to adopt a child are described in consent investigations made by the social service. The methodology for this study was document analysis. The analysis material consisted of 23 consent investigations from family courts in 12 different municipalities and district administrations. The theoretical starting point of the study was the perspective of social construct of reality. Based on the issues of the study, background on international adoptions, theory of norms and deviation and past research the documents were analyzed. The results showed that the consent investigations were characterized by the social workers double advocacy regarding the prospective parents and the adopted children, usually to the parents’ advantage. The formulation in which the family courts constructed the applicants was almost unilaterally positive. The personality descriptions were one-sided and described the applicants as ideal prospective parents. At the same time the documents tended to describe the single prospective parents as deviations from the norm of the nuclear family. The documents were distinguished by great linguistic range with both detailed politically and morally correct descriptions, as well as vague, value-charged and affective formulations.

The purpose of this study is to illuminate the delineations made regarding "suitable parenthood" in consent investigations for international adoption. Our aim is thus to highlight norms about parenthood that define who is considered suitable for adoption. The research questions addressed in the study are: How do family social worker relate to guidelines for assessing "suitable parenthood"? What significance do family social workers attach to "suitable parenthood"? Which norms are decisive when adoption applicants are assessed as “suitable parents”? The study was conducted using qualitative semi-structured interviews with nine family social workers from eight different municipalities in Sweden. The study is based on two theoretical concepts. Anders Molander's discussion on “skön” in professional assessments and Yeheskel Hasenfeld's theory on morality in human service organizations. The conclusion of the study is that family social workers find it difficult and complex to assess "suitable parenthood" in international adoption cases. Although they adhere to similar guidelines and work methods, assessments may vary. Finally, during our analysis, we identified two types of family social worker based on whether they adopt a parent perspective or a child perspective in the assessment of consent.