Peer-reviewed article
«The Application of the New Law of Adoption and the Psychological Preparation of Prospective Stepparents»
Farmakopoulou I, Stavropoulou K, Bari N, Theodoropoulou N, Theodoratou M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the emotions of prospective stepparents going through Greece's new adoption law process introduced in 2018. Researchers surveyed prospective adoptive parents and interviewed social workers to understand how feelings changed during the adoption process. Parents initially reported stress and anxiety but grew more confident by the end of training. The study concludes that proper implementation of the new law is important for children's welfare and deinstitutionalization in Greece.
Key points
- Prospective stepparents' dominant emotions at first contact with social workers were stress and anxiety
- By the end of the training process, stress and anxiety were replaced by confidence and impatience
- Social workers confirmed the emotional changes observed in prospective parents
- Many child placements in Greece have not yet complied with the new adoption law
- The research highlights the importance of proper application of the law aligned with European Union deinstitutionalization guidelines
Limitations
The document does not provide sample sizes, demographic details of participants, or specific quantitative measures. It is unclear whether the study measured actual child outcomes or only parental emotional experiences.
Abstract
Introduction The new adoption law, which was introduced in Greece in 2018, brought radical changes in adoption. Objectives This presentation aimed to investigate the emotions of the prospective stepparents, based on the changes which were effectuated by the new law of adoption. Methods This survey was conducted through mixed methodology. Quantitative research was addressed to investigate the emotions of the to prospective stepparents. Qualitative research was addressed to social workers and its goal was to depict their opinion about the new law and the prospective stepparents’ expressed emotions. Results The findings of the survey have demonstrated that the stepparents had a variety of emotions that changed throughout the adoption process. The dominant feelings of parents at the first visit with the social worker were stress and anxiety. However, at the end of the training process, these feelings were replaced by confidence and impatience. This emotional rotation of prospective stepparents was confirmed in the social workers’ interviews. In addition, social workers interviews highlighted the importance of the amendment of the old law of adoption’s process. Conclusions To sum up, this research has shown the importance of the new law and therefore the significance of its right application from all children’s placements in Greece. Nevertheless, it seems that due to the recent application of the new law, many placements have not yet complied with it and therefore there is urgent need for reinforcement of its application, according to the guidelines of the European Union that demanded gradual deinstitutionalization using the alternative types of child care. Disclosure No significant relationships.