父系家庭傳承制度下的收養形式與決策模式

當夫妻無法透過自然或人工生殖技術生兒育女，收養就是獲得子女主要的替代方式。儘管現代收養法令與制度日趨完備，近年的收養案例顯示強調親屬血緣關係的傳統過繼形式仍是臺灣社會常見的收養類型。本研究徵得十個收養家庭的同意，經過數次深入訪談，蒐集收養過程的相關資料，比較不同收養形式家庭的特質及其決策過程，藉以說明父系傳承體制如何影響無子嗣家庭的收養類型。研究結果顯示，家庭結構與居住型態對於收養類型具有關鍵的影響。在主幹家庭與大家庭中，由於公婆干預或主導收養過程，最可能採行強調血緣與性別的親屬過繼類型。在無子的夫婦家庭中，妻子雖有較多話語權，假若丈夫是長子或獨子，也無法完全免除雙方親屬介入收養決策。儘管臺灣家庭型態已由男性中心的父子軸轉向兩性平等的夫妻軸，一旦觸及與家庭延續有關的收養行為，父系傳承制度的運作與影響隨即顯現。然而，隨著生育率逐年下降，親屬之間可供過繼的子女數量明顯不足，收養的範圍勢必擴及非親屬網絡。考量人口特性的變化以及女性在家庭地位與決策能力的提升，可預期臺灣家庭收養的過程與決策將逐漸朝向無血緣的收養形式。

關鍵字

收養；過繼；父權體制；代間傳承

並列摘要

Adoption is a viable and alternate form of family formation, if a couple cannot conceive and give birth to a child. While the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act has been enforced and the legal adoption matching services are available in Taiwan, the data compiled from a report on the registration of adoptive children indicate that adoption of relatives is still preferred and practiced through kinship networks. Using in-depth interviewing data collected from ten families, we analyze how childless families made adoption decisions under the norm of patrilineality within the Chinese family system. The results indicate a strong link between preferred adoption patterns and the family structure. Within stem and extended families, elderly parents not only have the final say on adoption decision but also show a strong preference for the pattern of relative adoption. While a wife has more bargaining power in the conjugal relationship, it is hard to exclude intervention from parents on both sides if her spouse is the oldest son or only child. Concerning the sociocultural importance assigned to children and the patriarchal root of the institution of relative adoption, the significance of conjugal relationship has continuously been downplayed in the Chinese family context. However, there is a shortage of babies because of the decline of fertility in the past few decades. It is also worth mentioning that the presence and status of women in paid employment has improved dramatically, which in turn enhances their decision-making power. Undoubtedly, the pattern of non-relative adoption should become prevalent among childless couples and families eventually.