Genetic "mysteries" and international adoption: The cultural impact of biomedical technologies on the adoptive family experience

This paper argues that the increasing medicalization and geneticization of North American society may be influencing how and why adoptive families thi nk-and worry-about their children's birthparents, their children's 'health risks', and about their own role as parents in genetic terms. It further di scusses why these processes may be causing adoptive parents unnecessary anx ieties. It suggests that family professionals and social workers should be aware of the effects of these socio-cultural processes and of the real limi tations of genetic techniques to predict, diagnose, and cure disease in ord er to better respond to prospective adoptive parents' need for support and information.