The US adoption system: media depictions and why they are ignored
File(s)
Date
20122013
Author
Quilling, Alyssa
Advisor(s)
Paulson, Nels
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study investigated the U.S. adoption system, media
influence, and welfare spending. It was undertaken to understand
how the media frames adoption and the U.S. adoption system and
how certain factors influence how the public views welfare spending
(welfare spending including foster care and adoption programs).
The media presents the adoption process as long and complex,
suggesting that social welfare programs that handle adoption and
foster care may be underfunded. However, such presentation has
not prompted a response from the public, suggesting that opinions
about adoption are influenced by factors other than media portrayal.
This research suggests that political leanings, family income, and
confidence in the media are all partially influential to how people
view how much money is spent on welfare programs. This research
also suggests that other avenues would be more successful than the
media in raising awareness about problems in adoptions, such as using
conservative-leaning NGOs to inform conservative-leaning citizens
Subject
Welfare spending
Media
Adoption