UC Berkeley

ABSTRACT: This study examines a representative sample of adults in California (USA) and Norway, and their attitudes toward adoption versus foster care in a child protection case. The results show that a majority of people favour adoption for a child who has been removed due to maltreatment and cannot be reunified with birth parents. The study examines if people's rights orientation, favouring children or adults, or favouring birth parents or adoptive parents, or their institutional context explain their preferences about long‐term care options. Data material consist of representative samples of the population in California (USA) and Norway (n = 2222), using a vignette survey design. Findings suggest that individuals with a child rights position favour adoption, but attitudes about birth parents' and adoptive parents' rights are not related to care option choices. Institutional context, anchored in policy feedback literature, partly explains the preference for adoption and the population's rights orientation. Further studies are necessary to confirm the role of rights attitudes and institutional context.