Adoption Interest Inventory by Mech

Please answer "Agree" or "Disagree" to the following statements:

1. I would be interested in meeting with other girls who are pregnant to discuss how to make decisions about resolving my pregnancy.
2. I would be interested in talking with other girls who have chosen adoption for their child.
3. I might consider adoption if I thought it would help me finish school and get a job that I wanted.
4. I might consider adoption if I though my child would have a better chance in life with another family.
5. I would be interested in talking to a family who had adopted a child.
6. I would be interested in talking to someone who was adopted.
7. If I could meet the prospective adoptive parents, I might consider adoption for my child.
8. I might consider adoption if I could have a part in choosing the adoptive family.
9. I might consider adoption only if I could see my child once in a while.
10. I might consider an adoption plan only if I could have information (pictures, progress report) of my child growing up and knew everything was alright.
11. I might consider adoption if I thought that in the long run it would help me reach my own vocational and career goals.
12. I might consider adoption if I was sure that the adoptive family would give my child love, security and a good home.
13. I might consider adoption if I knew it fulfilled my responsibility to the child and I could move on with my life.
14. I am considering adoption.

(Adoption Interest Inventory courtesy of the National Council For Adoption.)

If you answered "Agree" with several of the questions above, take the time to do some more research on adoption. Talk to several different people while you research. For example, talk to a peer counselor at a pregnancy resource center which is not affiliated with an adoption agency - they have no vested interest in your adoption choice. Also talk to an adoption lawyer and several adoption agencies - keeping in mind that they have a vested interest in your adoption choice, it is how they make a living.

You may find it helpful to read the chapters titled "Should She Make an Adoption Plan?", "Should We Adopt the Baby?", "Should They Marry?" and "Should She Parent Alone?" in our book "How To Survive Your Teen's Pregnancy."

November is National Adoption Month. Take time to research adoption with your pregnant daughter, along with single parenting and marriage. Then, no matter which of these roads she chooses, she can feel confident that the decision was made with care and thought instead of off-handedly. When things are tough in the future (because life can be hard no matter what we choose), she can remind herself that she actively chose her road instead of saying "I wish I had considered ______."