Redai dili (Sep 2022)
Space-Time Evolution and Decision-Making Mechanism of Sending Children out for Adoption
Abstract
Sending children out for adoption has a long history. It completely changes the trajectory of children's survival and development. Trapped in the complexity, concealment, and dispersion of this behavior, the relevant definition is controversial and research data is difficult to obtain,the systemic and deep understanding are urgently needed. Based on public welfare website cases, this study uses social networks, spatial analysis, mathematical statistics and Geodetector to explore the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of informal adoption-out from 1981 to 2010 and further summarize the process and causal mechanism of informal adoption-out. The results are as follows: (1) Adopted children are mostly females under one-year of age. The young age of the group is because of the birth families' independent decision-making. Influenced by contemporary birth policy, economic conditions, and other factors, they make decisions as early as possible. During the family planning period, the number of children was strictly controlled. Influenced by the preference for sons, some families gave up girls to have the opportunity to have boys. Traditional fertility concepts have been highlighted in the narrow fertility space. (2) Over time, an inverted U-shaped distribution of "increasing first and decreasing later" is presented. From 1981 to 1983, adopted children were mainly affected by the family's economic situation. The violation of the birth policy became the dominant factor around 1990. Spatially, it is mainly distributed in the eastern, central Sichuan-Chongqing regions of China. (3) Economic poverty, birth-policy violations, son preference, and family accidents can explain about 90% of informal adopted-out cases. Children are most likely to be dispatched when the survival and development of families and children cannot be guaranteed. (4) Population factors are the most important factors affecting the spatial distribution. Natural disasters, birth control, and economic factors have a greater impact on each period in that order. The time interval interaction detection result shows that, when families are faced with poverty and change (for example, parent is ill or dies), the probability of children being sent out for adoption greatly increases. A parent's absence will not only worsen the family's economic situation, but also reduce the emotional willingness to raise children. (5) Based on the rational choice theory, this study posits the influencing mechanism of sending children out for adoption: Culture, the fertility system, laws, and the economy constitute the macro environment of informal adoption, which also thoroughly affects family decision-making. As a basic research unit, the collection of decision-making results has both similarities and regional characteristics in macro. In 2015, China enacted the "Two-child policy," which may have led to a large number of adoptions. The goal of adoption has gradually shifted from "maximizing the interests of the family" to "maximizing the rights and interests of children." Therefore, we should learn from historical experience, rapidly improve the laws related to adoption, clarify the legal boundaries of children sent out by birth families, and combat the occurrence of crimes such as child trafficking, so as to protect their legitimate rights and interests.
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