title: Social Attitudes Toward Adoption by Same-Sex Couples in Europe.
abstract: By examining social attitudes on same-sex adoption in 28 European countries, we highlighted individual and country-level factors that can determine the level of social acceptance or rejection of this specific kind of adoption. This article contributes to the literature on social acceptance of lesbian women, gay men, and their adoption practices in Europe and directs attention to several previously under-researched aspects of social attitudes on same-sex parenting rights. The empirical base of this study was the fourth round of the European Values Study, conducted in 2008-2010. Using ordered logistic regressions, we examined the impact of several individual and country-level characteristics on the agreement level with the statement that "Homosexual couples should be able to adopt children." We found strong relationships between social attitudes towards adoption by same-sex couples and the existence of legislation permitting same-sex adoption practices at the country-level, as well as some individual attitudes, including those related to traditional family formation practices, "justification of homosexuality," and (non-) preference for homosexual neighbors. Our findings indicate a shift within the potential interpretational contexts of adoption by same-sex couples from a narrow sexuality-based framework to a different and possibly much wider context of family and parenting practices.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sociology, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 30 Orszaghaz Street, Budapest, 1014, Hungary. takacs.judit@tk.mta.hu.
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takács
authors.affiliation: FORS, Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ivett
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Szalma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bartus
mesh_terms: D000300:Adoption / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D005060:Europe; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D011639:Public Opinion; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities
keywords: European values study; Homosexuality; Same-sex adoption; Social attitudes