My heart goes out to the children of Ms. Crawford. I beleive most adoptive parents are warm loving people, trying to make a family.

The difference between steps and adoptive, is that the child's mom did not put the child up for adoption (usually).

What about Ms. crawford's other two adopted children who say they were never abused and never saw the abuse? I'am compelled to get the book about this and read it now.

Supposedly much of what happend in the movie wasnt what actually happend in the book.
I have to have some skepticism toward celeb adoptions since nearly everything they do is for attention and press.

I think there are many differences. I think some of the most significant are that many stepmoms view becoming a stepmom as a matter of "taking the bad with the good". ie. I get this great husband, but It is a package deal and so I have to deal with his kids. I know not all SMs are like that, but I do think it is the attitude of many. Also, adoptive mothers are people who are actively seeking out the children. It is a situation in which they truly want the kids and there is usually a pretty extensive process involved in approving adoptive parents. And finally, an adoptive parent usually feels as if they are actually the parent. They don't have to worry about their authority being undermined by the bioparents as they do in a step situation.

That is good insight,Raek. Ms. Crawford actively sought out her kids too though. I guess I just have to wonder why she would if only to abuse them. Not like she only had one and decided she didnt like being a parent.She adopted a total of 5 children (one who was taken back by the mom though).
Her situation is obviously not the same as a regular couple adopting though.
I think it was theotherside (or someone) who provided a link showing that alot of adoptions dont work out too though.Showing that often times the children are taken back to where they were obtained from due to an unsatisfactory situation.

I don't think it's fair to gauge celebrity adoptions by Joan Crawford's.

During that era, every aspect of a star's life was planned for publicity value.

Rock Hudson & Raymond Burr were protected from being "outted", even to the point of studio-arranged marriages!
Joan Crawford's adoptions were likely done for the publicity, & her star status made her approval a sure thing.

but meanwhile, during the same era, Elizabeth Taylor adopted a little girl & gave her all the love & all the advantages that her position & her wealth could provide.

Later, Mia Farrow adopted a big family, one at a time, from many different countries, & she found fulfillment & contentment as a mother.

From what I've seen, Angelina is devoted to her children; except for evening parties or black-tie events, she almost always has one in her arms & is holding hands with another one or more.

If the wheels were greased to expedite Angelina's adoptions, I say hurray for axle grease:
the children she adopted likely wouldn't have survived to adulthood had she not come along, & she's done a great deal to bring attention to adoption & to the plight of children in third-world countries.

As far as the other siblings denying that any abuse went on, abusive parents often pick one child as the "scapegoat".

When that happens, the other children almost always deny that there was any abuse going on in the home.

There was a horrifying incident here in Texas several years ago.

A woman had kept her 7-year-old child in closets & crawlspaces for years.

The woman's boyfriend, evidently afraid of being involved to any worse extent than he already was, told someone.

When she was rescued, near death, the child weighed, I forget, something like 25 pounds, her skin was covered in sores, sunshine hurt her eyes, & she cried when she first walked on grass, complaining that it was "biting" her.

She never had walked on grass.

She didn't know her name; they called her "the girl".

The other children in the household were fed & clothed, they went to school, etc.

*They never had told anyone that there was a child living in the closets/crawlspaces in their home.*

All the children were taken away, & the little one was adopted by the couple who had wanted her at birth.

don't know where the other siblings are now, but I remember reading that they were in therapy to overcome the problems that they had due to living lives of denial, guilt, & fear ("The girl doesn't get to eat because she's bad. If I'm bad, I won't get to eat." etc)