Why Moral Theories Matter: A Review of Ethics and Adoption Literature

Abstract

This study argues that moral theory is an important aspect of our use of self in adoption practice. Within this context, the authors examined the extent to which ethical theories were explicitly incorporated in the peer-reviewed adoption literature – published between 1996 and 2019 – that purported to focus on ethical issues. Findings from our review suggest that the inclusion of moral theories was largely implicit (e.g., informed by relevant codes of ethics, professional standards, and/or legislation) rather than explicit. Our literature review also revealed a wide range of ethical issues in adoption. Recommendations are made in the context of these findings.

Keywords:

• Adoption practice
• ethics
• moral theory
• use of self
• values

Acknowledegments

The authors wish to thank the reviewers for their substantive and thoughtful feedback that contributed to an improved manuscript.

Notes

1 The 1996 revision of the NASW Code of Ethics represents the most significant development in the evolution of the profession’s formal ethical standards. The code was updated in 2017 to incorporate new or revised standards pertaining to social workers’ use of technology to deliver services to clients, communicate with clients, search online for information about clients, and access and store information about clients.

* Denotes articles included in our review.