Singaporeans believe adoption serves its purpose in society: survey

Channel NewsAsia 9 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE : Singaporeans see adoption as serving a useful function in society, according to a nationwide study conducted by the Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore.

The benchmark study aimed to understand the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and opinions towards adoption held by Singaporeans.

What the researchers found was that an overwhelming number of Singaporeans consider adoption as an alternative way to create a family.

Adopting a child is viewed the same as having one's own child.

But when it comes to attitudes towards adoption, the perception is mixed.

While they approve adoption and consider it to serve as an alternate form of family formation, they consider adoption to be the second best solution.

They also hold negative attitudes towards the biological parents who place their children for adoption.

The researchers were surprised to find that only 69 per cent of the respondents believed that adopted children should be told that they are adopted.

They should be told this at the age of 16.

This is inconsistent with advice by adoption workers for adoptive parents to tell the child at an early age of around 3 to 4 years old as it relates to the healthy development and psychological well-being of the child.

72 per cent of respondents also thought that adoptive parents should not tell their friends, neighbours or community about their child's adoption status.

The researchers said these findings highlight the need to raise awareness among the public about the importance of child adoption and provision of support.

The researchers believe that the findings of this study can help the relevant agencies implement appropriate policies, services, intervention programmes and awareness campaigns.

They also suggest that given the mixed findings, voluntary welfare organisations and governmental organisations should sensitise the public on child adoption.

The study was conducted among 1,200 Singapore citizens and permanent residents within the age group of 18-60 years.

Face-to-face interviews of study respondents were conducted between March and April. - CNA /ls

Adopt a kid? Why not, say Singaporeans
Study shows eight in 10 approve of adoption but many frown on those giving up their children
Ang Yiying Straits Times 10 Jun 10;

SINGAPORE citizens and permanent residents are open to adoption as a way of setting up a family, but are also likely to be disdainful of those who give up their children to be raised by others.

A study which polled 1,200 people here aged 18 to 60, mostly not adoptive parents, found eight in 10 saying they approved of adoption.

When asked what they thought of people on the 'supply side' of the adoption equation, nearly half - 45 per cent - said those who gave up their children were selfish, irresponsible or careless.

In the study done in March and April, the first on attitudes towards adoption here, respondents had to indicate their level of agreement with 128 statements or how they would respond to a given scenario from a range of possible answers.

It was conducted by Dr Jayashree Mohanty from the National University of Singapore's social work department and Dr Srinivasan Chokkanathan, who teaches gerontological management at Temasek Polytechnic and has experience with studies on the family and tracking attitudes.

They are due to present their findings at a conference in Hong Kong which starts today.

Figures from the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) indicate the annual number of adoptions in the last three years has been quite stable at around 400. MCYS did not reveal the number of adoption applications it received for those years, but said there has been no noticeable increase.

But adoption services report a rising awareness and interest in adoption.

For instance, Mr Low Soo Meng who runs Greenhouse Adoption Services said he used to get about 10 queries a month five years ago; now he gets twice that.

The study comes at a time when the Government is putting in place procreation measures out of concern over the falling number of births - the total fertility rate is at an all-time low of 1.23.

Dr Mohanty said the study, which will produce baseline numbers, can be replicated down the road so the nation's views towards adoption can be charted.

The researchers wanted to get started on the work, she said, in view of adoption being an alternative family arrangement that can be explored because of the low fertility rate.

Dr Mohanty predicts that adoption will gain pace here, like in the United States and Canada, given that people here are getting married later and finding it more difficult to conceive.

The researchers, concerned that almost half the respondents were judgmental of those who give up their children for adoption, reckon from this that most of them feel it is the parents' responsibility to bring up their child.

This came through in their responses when they were asked how they would advise an unmarried pregnant friend: Almost six in 10 said they would counsel her to keep the child.

One surprising result: Only seven in 10 believe adopted children should be told about their parentage, with 16 being the average age they believed the child should be told. The researchers and those in the adoption sector disagree. They think children should be told - and told early - instead of being shocked later.

Senior manager Teo Seok Bee of Touch Adoption Services, which counsels openness, said: 'A child can sense something is not right when parents lie or hide. Parents may end up telling more lies if they do not (tell the child)... and may live in constant fear of the child finding out.'

An MCYS spokesman said the ministry requires adoptive parents to attend 'disclosure workshops', but leaves the decision to them on whether or when to tell the child.

Freelance counsellor Chang Chee Siah, 40, told her adopted Indonesia-born daughter, now seven, before the girl was two. The child was then told about her two mothers - her 'Indonesian mummy' and her 'forever mummy'.

Ms Chang and her husband, who had tried unsuccessfully for a child until the adoption, have since had two children of their own, now aged six and nine months.

New Zealander Monique Ciochetto, 47, who runs a part-time service providing information to those interested in adoption - and is herself an adoptive parent - can vouch for the positive light in which people view her adopted Malaysia-born girls, aged three and two.

She said people say the girls are lucky to have found a home with her and her husband: 'They are very positive about it. Our daughters are Indian, I'm Caucasian. I've never had negative comments.'

Mr Eugene Lo, 40, an executive in a non-profit organisation, and his wife are parents of triplets aged three after in-vitro fertilisation, and they know what it is like to want children badly. Like the majority of respondents, they do not see why anyone would give up a child.

He said: 'If you talk about the old days when people were having 10 or 11 kids, it may be understandable. But nowadays, people may be too materialistic or selfish.'

Most Singaporeans support adoption to start a family
Business Times 10 Jun 10;

Some say it may encourage having out-of-wedlock kids

AN overwhelming 91.2 per cent of people in Singapore view adopting a child as a perfectly viable way of starting a family, according to a survey funded by the National University of Singapore.

However, on the other hand, the nationwide survey of 1,200 Singapore citizens and permanent residents also found that 45 per cent view adoption as a 'second best solution' and that adoptive parents are not 'real parents', while 41.3 per cent also said that the prevalence of adoption may encourage the idea of having out-of-wedlock children.

The survey was conducted by Jayashree Mohanty from the National University of Singapore Department of Social Work and Srinivasan Chokkanathan from Temasek Polytechnic's Gerontological Management Studies Department.

The researchers said the findings would help policymakers and social workers learn about public attitudes towards adoption so that they could implement appropriate policies, services, intervention programmes and awareness campaigns.

These findings have led to suggestions that Voluntary Welfare Organisations and governmental organisations should sensitise the public on child adoption.

The study also found that 69 per cent believed that adopted children should be told about their status and the average accepted age of those to be told so would be 16 years.

This is inconsistent with social workers' advice to tell children at ages three or four in order to optimise their psychological well-being.

Dr Mohanty and Dr Chokkanathan said that given the decrease in the rates of marriage and low fertility rate, adoption may play a crucial role in family formation in Singapore.

They added that there is a need to raise awareness among the public about the importance of child adoption.