In this study we examine how suitability for adoptive parenthood is assessed
and displayed in interactions between social workers and prospective adoptive
parents. In particular, we have analyzed relationship questions that are
put to couples with and without an observation from the social worker. The
answers are featured as very precise, stressing the positive aspects of the
relationship but avoiding sainthood, and accompanied with examples that
illustrate the stability of the relationship. We concluded that it is not only

Prospective adoptive parents who take part in a Dutch adoption assessment procedure are asked to write
down their life stories. In this article we examine how information from the life stories is deleted, selected
and transformed into a topic to talk about in an assessment interview and/or to write about in a
recommendation record. We have shown in a detailed analysis how prospective adoptive parents
demonstrate themselves to be “normal people” with “normal childhoods” and how life events are selected