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Factors which influence the decision of unwed mothers to keep or surrender their illegitimate children to a public adoption agency

Author

Merle Emmert Wolf, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1971

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

James J. McIlwrath

First Committee Member

Patricia Wagner

Second Committee Member

[?] Fennell

Abstract

The general purpose of this study is to turn to the possibilities of a second focus of research into the adoption process, that is, to what can be learned about the natural mother.

The particular purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to identify the socio-economic characteristics of those women contacting a public adoption agency for the placement of their children with prospective adoptive families; (2) to identify and examine the sociological factors which appear to influence the natural mother to wither keep or surrender her child; and (3) to determine if the women contacting the agency in 1969 represent the same socio-economic characteristics as those women who contacted the agency in 1959.

Pages

74

Recommended Citation

Wolf, Merle Emmert. (1971). Factors which influence the decision of unwed mothers to keep or surrender their illegitimate children to a public adoption agency. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1740