Adoção na espécie humana: incoerência biológica?

Abstract

Adoption behavior is observed in many species of mammals and birds, including humans, in both traditional and modern industrial societies. From a biological point of view, it may seem incoherent to raise offspring that are not biologically your own, where there is no gain in genetic fitness. Thus, the possible lack of reproductive or genetic success of the adopting parents, in addition to the high costs of parental investment in this adopted offspring, results in a lack of understanding of why this behavior occurs from an evolutionary point of view. However, psychological and physiological predispositions have also been reported, as well as the socio-cultural, economic and political issues involved, positively influencing its occurrence. This is the paradox behind the adoption process. A literature review from the perspective of evolutionary psychology seeks to better understand this behavior, emphasizing, at a proximal level, underlying issues, motivations, preferences, benefits and costs. With the aim of deconstructing stereotypes, demystifying social stigma and legitimizing different family formats. Therefore, it was observed that the motivations to raise their offspring (favored by natural selection) are modulated by proximal factors, such as being able to pass on their knowledge and life experiences, not limited to continuing their genes, as well as the strong influence of the desire to take care of children, whether their own or not.