Adoção por casais homossexuais

: perceções de profissionais que trabalham na área de proteção de crianças e jovens

Abstract

This dissertation aims at knowing and understanding the perceptions of professionals working on child and youth protection about homosexual parenthood. The goal was to understand whether, in the perspective of those professionals, children growing up in homoparental families might experience any effects regarding their psychological and social development, and, additionally, whether their behavior might differ from those of children adopted by heterosexual couples. Five personal interviews were conducted, from which two main themes have emerged: first, the perceptions of child protection professionals themselves about homossexual parenthood and its possible consequences on child development; second, the perceptions of those professionals about the impact of social attitudes on the development of these children. The results of the analysis of content suggest that, from the point of view of these participants, there do not appear to exist significant consequences on the development of the adopted children. In addition, they indicate that it remains important to continue the discussion of such a contentious and divisive matter, involving different social, legislative, religious and scientific perspectives, in order to promote a knowledge that is encompassing and adjusted to the best interest of each child.

Date of Award	31 Jul 2017
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Catarina Ribeiro (Supervisor)