Table of Contents
Title Page                                                                                                              i
Approval Page                                                                                            ii
Certification                                                                                      iii
Dedication                                                                                                           iv
Acknowledgements                                                                            v
Table of Contents                                                                                vi
List of Tables                                                                                                     viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Background to the Study                                                                           1
Statement of the Problem                                                                    7
Purpose of the Study                                                                                  8
Research Questions                                                                                       9
Hypotheses                                                                                                            9
Significance of the Study                                                                                   10
Scope of the Study                                                                                          12
CHAPTER TWO: Review of Related Literature
Conceptual Framework 13
- Child, parent, ever-married people and child adoption                      13
- Attitude and belief                                                 16
- Measurement of attitude and belief                           16
- Process and reasons for child adoption                                19
- Demographic factors associated with child adoption attitude and belief                 23
Theoretical Framework                                                                                  27
- Balanced theory of attitude                                                              27
- Theory of reasoned action                                                      28
- Health belief model                                                                   28
Empirical Studies on Child Adoption Attitude and Beliefs of Reviewed Literature-30
Summary of Literature review                                                     34
CHAPTER THREE: Methods
Research Design                                                                                          36
Area of study                                                                                             36
Population of the Study                                                                                     37
Sample and Sampling Techniques                                                         37
Instrument for Data Collection                                                                     38
Validity of the instrument                                                                 38
Reliability of the instrument                                                 38
Method of Data Collection                                                            39
Method of Data Analysis                                                                                39
CHAPTER FOUR: Results and Discussion
Results                                                                                           40
Summary of major findings                                                          62
Discussion                                                                                 64
Implication of the study to health education                                          70
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
Summary                                                                                        71
Conclusions                                                                                           73
Recommendations                                                                              74
Suggestion for further studies                                                               74
References                                                                                              75
Appendices                                                                                                         81
List of Tables
Tables
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward the adopted child
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward adoptive parent
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward adoption process
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about adopted child
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about adoptive parent
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about adoption process
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward child adoption according to gender.
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward child adoption according to level of education
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s attitude toward child adoption according to religious affiliation.
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about child adoption according to gender.
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about child adoption according to level of education.
- Mean rating of ever-married people’s belief about child adoption according to religious affiliation.
- Summary of t-test analysis of no significant difference in the attitude of ever-married male and female toward child adoption.
- One-way Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) of no significant difference in the attitude of ever-married people toward child adoption based on level of education.
- One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of no significant difference in the attitude of ever-married people toward child adoption based on religious affiliation.
- Summary of t-test analysis of no significant difference in belief of ever-married people based on gender.
- One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of no significant difference in the belief of ever-married people toward child adoption based on level of education.
- One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of no significant difference in the belief of ever-married people about child adoption based on religious affiliation.
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to find out the attitude and belief of ever-married people towards child adoption in Uzo-Uwani L.G.A. of Enugu State. To achieve the purpose of this study, twelve specific objectives with the corresponding research questions were posed and six null hypotheses postulated. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population for the study was 8585 ever-married people. Multi-sampling procedures was used to draw a sample of 450 ever-married people for the study. The instrument used for the data collection was the 23 item researcher design questionnaire called “Attitude and belief of ever-married toward child adoption questionnaire (ABEMTCAQ). The research questions were answered using mean while t-test and Anova was used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The following results were obtained; Ever-married people had positive attitude towards adopted child (x = 2.76 = 2.50) but they had negative attitude towards adoptive parents (x = 2.44 < 2.50) and adoptive process (x = 2.37 < 2.50). Ever-married people also showed negative belief about adopted child (x = 2.37 < 2.50); adoptive parent (x = 2.36 < 2.50) but they had positive belief about adoption process (2.83). Male and female ever-married people had positive attitude towards adopted child (male x – 2.81 > 2.50) (female x = 2.66 > 2.50) but they have negative attitude towards adoptive parents. Male (x = 2.36) female (x = 2.38) ever married had negative attitude toward adoptive process male (2.43) female (2.44). Ever-married people of no formal education (x = 2.49) had negative attitude toward adopted child while those of primary (x = 2.83) secondary (x = 2.98) and tertiary (x = 3.01) had positive attitude toward adopted child. Ever-married people of no formal education (x = 2.50) had positive attitude toward adoptive parents while those of primary (x = 2.29), secondary (x = 2.24) and tertiary (x = 2.37) had negative attitude toward adoptive parent. Attitude of ever-married people towards adoption process for those of tertiary education (x = 2.52) was positive and negative for those of no formal, primary and secondary education. Attitude of Ever-married people of Christian religion (x = 2.35), Islamic (x = 2.16) and Tradition (x = 2.43) religion was negative toward adopted child, adoptive parent and adoption process. Ever-married male and female belief about adopted child (male = x = 2.35) (female x = 2.39) and adoptive parent (male x = 2.40), female (x = 2.32) was negative while their belief about adoption process was positive (male x 2.96), female (x = 2.43), Ever married people of primary (x = 2.21) secondary (x = 2.41) and tertiary (x = 2.33) had negative belief about adopted child and adoptive parent. Ever-married people’s belief about adopted child was positive for those of no formal (x = 2.71) primary (x = 2.83) secondary (x = 2.90) and tertiary (x = 2.99). The belief of ever-married people about adopted child and adoptive parent was negative for those Christians, Islamic and Traditional religion but their belief about adoptive process was positive. There was no significant difference in the attitude and belief of ever-married male and female toward adopted child, adoptive parent and adoptive process. There was significant difference in the attitude and belief of ever-married people about adopted child, adoptive parent and adoption process based on level of education. There was significant difference in the attitude of ever-married people toward adopted child, adoptive parent and adoption process based on religious affiliation. There was no significant difference in the belief of ever-married people about adopted child, adoptive parent and adoption process based on religion affiliation.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
The issue of child adoption is attracting world wide attention in the recent times. Biological ties form the hallmark of parent-child relationship and its absence has caused concern throughout the history of adoption (Logan, 1996). Nevertheless there is evidence that adoptive relationship can form along other lines, so adoptive parents enrich their children’s lives to compensate for the lack of biological ties and external challenges. There is a biological tie relationship that exists between a mother and her child. This relationship makes a child feel the mother’s absence when she is not around or dead. The adoptive parent can compensate an adopted child by showing him/her a good motherly care which ought to exist between a biological mother and her child.
Years ago, adoption was a taboo in many countries including Nigeria, but today it has become more common and acceptable (Wayne, 2004). According to Wayne, (2004) because people’s attitude towards adoption is changing, there is a polite behavior towards adopted children and their families. Raynor (1980) observed that the aim of child adoption is to cement a new family. Wayne (2004) similarly revealed that the aim of child adoption is to find a permanent home for babies who are the result of unwanted pregnancies.
World Health Organization WHO, (1980) defined a child as a person who is less than eighteen years of age. Molechine (2004) described a child as a person who has not attained maturity or age of legal majority. In the context of this study a child is a young person of either sex (male or female) who is not up to eighteen years of age. Adoption is the act of taking up a new idea and making it one’s own by individual (Rogers, 2003). It could also mean the act by which couples take up children who need adoption and making them their own. Adoption in the context of this study is the act of making use of a new idea as the best course of action available.
Child adoption according to (Eze, 1993) is a statutory process of terminating a child’s legal rights and duties toward the natural parent and substituting similar right and duties towards adoptive parent. Adamec and Pierne (1995) defined child adoption as a legal process by which people take as their own child a person not biologically born to them. Resolving the issue of adoption is a life long process but through an awareness of the issues inherent in adoption, an adoptive parent can use strategies that will enhance children’s self esteem and decrease their emotional vulnerability (William & Christine, 1996). This could be perhaps the reason why Boswell (1998) stated that child adoption is the act of taking a person or child into ones family as a son or daughter Adoption raises unique issues and challenges for the child and adoptive parents. Barbara (2004) observed that child adoption is the act of establishing a person as parent to one who is not in fact his child.
Child adoption in the context of this study is the practice by which couple agrees to rear a child/children which are not biologically their children with the aim of giving the child/children a good and better future. It incorporates the practice by which individual or families with impaired fertility accept to take and care for a child not related to them and have him/her as their child instead of going in for divorce. Every Child need a parent who will take care of him, this parent can be a birth parent or an adoptive parent. According to Boswell (1988) a parent is a person who beget, rear, nurture or give birth to a child. Section 567 of Edict act of 1996 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria viewed a parent as any person who cares for a child or young person.
           A biological, natural or birth parent refers to a parent who is the biological mother or father of an individual United Nations Organization (UN 2008). An adoptive parent according to Eze, (1993) is that person or couple who has completed all the processes involved in adopting a child and has taken the child to their home to take care of the child till the age of maturity. This parent must have in one time or the other married either by court, traditional or Christian marriage. In this study it is only ever-married people that suppose in adopt because they are the people that can give hope for the orphan, and the abandoned by giving them good training permanent home and standard education like other children who live with their biological parent. These are the main aims of child adoption and it is the ever-married that can properly provide them to abandoned and neglected children. Single boys and girls may adopt but may not be able to provide for all that the child will need like good health standard education, permanent home and comfortable environment to grow happily like other children who live with their biological parent.               Ever-married people according to United Nations Organization (UN, 2008) include men and women who have married at least once in their life either by court, traditional or Christian marriage although their current marital status may not be married. The rationale for chosen ever-married people as the subject of the study is because they are the people that are supposed to rear, care and offer a permanent home for these children. They are the people that are in the system, they are qualified to take care, train and provide for either biological or adoptive children.
