As adoption of a child from abroad and from the state’s foster care system is increasingly practiced, prospective adoptive parents now have several options: private domestic, foster care, or international adoption. However, little research has been conducted on the similarities and differences in the characteristics of the child and family and the decision-making process by adoption type. We therefore ask: How are the characteristics of the child and family associated with the type of adoption? And what factors are considered important for adoptive parents in deciding whether to choose private domestic or international adoption? Using the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents, we found that attributes of the child and family differ by the type of adoption, and while adoptive parents expressed a preference to resemble a biologically formed family, the emphasis was placed differently by adoption type.
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