Famílias monoparentais femininas: um estudo sobre a motivação de mulheres que adotam

The objective of this work is to study the motivation of single, widowed or divorced women who seek the “1st Childhood and Family Court of Rio de Janeiro” with the intention of adopting a child.  Through their discourses, two categories stood out: the desire to be a mother and the fear of loneliness. We found differences between women who had made other investments in life besides maternity and women for whom the intended child would give meaning to a life empty of stimuli and  poor in personal relationships.Keywords: adoption; motivation; single-parent families