A devolução de crianças na adoção tardia e a construção da maternidade

Abstract

The trajectory of life of many women leads to the construction of meanings about being a mother and adoption is one of the options to realize this motherhood. From the studies on femininity and motherhood, the place that the child occupies in the relationship with the adoptive mother is discussed. But, still in contemporary society, this relationship appears imbued with myths and prejudices, which can often lead to a project of adoption to failure. In the midst of all the complexity of the adoption process, it can happen that the adopted child is returned, a situation that is not rare these days. This devolution occurs when family conflicts make cohabitation unsustainable, making it clear that the family has had difficulty inserting this child as a son or daughter. Before the vicissitudes that involve the exercise of motherhood in adoption, the present study has the object of research the experience of women who faced the return of children adopted by them. Therefore, it has as main objective to understand how is the articulation of the return of adopted children and adolescents and the process of construction of the motherhood of adoptive mothers, approaching the concept of ambivalence of Cultural Psychology. For this understanding, we sought to: identify the reasons that led these mothers to adopt a child; identify the reasons pointed out by them for the return of that adopted child; analyze the emotional repercussions for the adoptive mother who decides to return an adopted child; explore the expectations of the future of the mothers who adopted and decided to return the adopted child. The research was developed in the descriptive qualitative approach, using the narrative interview and internet case reports. An interview was recorded with the participant who lived the experience of adopting and returning the child, having signed the Term of Free and Informed Consent and the study approved by the Research Ethics Committee of UCSal. Also, seventeen cases were reported, on the internet, about adoptive mothers who faced the same experience of adopting and returning the child. The data obtained were part of a multiple case study and were treated by content analysis by thematic categories. The main findings are the reasons that led the women to decide to adopt a child: infertility; the search for changes in the routine of the spouses; altruism and belief in one's own goodness; the need to give meaning to life. Regarding the reasons indicated by the mothers for the return of the children adopted by them: the behavior presented by the child during family life; the expectation of the adopter regarding the demonstration of love and gratitude; reference to the child's origin. Regarding the emotional repercussions for the adoptive mother who returns the adopted child, it was verified that the most striking feeling is that of guilt. It was also thought that adoptive mothers might tend to postpone or give up on a new adoption after returning the child. It is concluded that the return is a direct consequence of difficulties encountered in the exercise of adoptive motherhood. Finally, the research points to the need for studies on the adoption, in particular, about returning children to adoption, in order for the theme to gain more visibility.