The aim of this study was to use a qualitative paradigm to explore social workers' attitudes and beliefs towards adoption/fostering for same sex parent families. The study used a grounded theory approach, within a social constructionist framework to elicit the beliefs and attitudes of eight British social work students and one qualified social worker. The participants were aged 23 to 45 and were recruited from The University of East Anglia. The results offer new insights into social workers' attitudes and beliefs towards same sex parent families and adoption. The research highlighted six main areas of beliefs, with the concept of self and 'others' attitudes running throughout these. The six main areas were social workers training, same sex families as being different and deficient, same sex families as similar to other families, same sex families as providing more to a child than other families, 'others' as being prejudiced and self beliefs about same sex families. The main conclusion of the study is that the social workers who participated believed themselves to hold non-prejudiced views and were in favour of adoption by same sex parent families. Participants however reported that 'others' did not share these attitudes and were prejudiced, discriminatory and against prospective lesbian and gay adopters. The findings from the research could inform social work practices and training and also the practices and training of other healthcare professionals, including clinical psychologists.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:554254 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Gavin, Olivia |
| Publisher | University of East Anglia |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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