Adaptation to Parenthood During the Post-Adoption Period: A Review of the Literature

Adoption Quarterly

Volumn 13, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 125-144

  McKay, Katherine ^a   Ross, Lori E ^b   Goldberg, Abbie E ^c  

^a RYERSON UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH   (Canada)

^c CLARK UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Adoption; Adoptive parenting; Health; Mental health; Post adoption; Relationship quality; Transition to parenthood

Indexed keywords

EID: 77952923368     PISSN: 10926755     EISSN: 1544452X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10926755.2010.481040     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Atkinson, A., & Gonet, P. (2007). Strengthening adoption practice, listening to adop- tive families. Child Welfare, 86, 87-104.
2. Brodzinsky, D. M., & Huffman, L. (1988). Transition to adoptive parenthood. Mar- riage & Family Review, 12, 267-286.
3. Campbell, S. B., & Cohn, J. F. (1991). Prevalence and correlates of postpartum depression in first-time mothers. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 594- 599.
4. Ceballo, R., Lansford, J. E., Abbey, A., & Stewart, A. J. (2004). Gaining a child: Com- paring the experiences of biological parents, adoptive parents and stepparents. Family Relations, 53, 38-48.
5. Cohen, N. J., Coyne, J., & Duvall, J. (1993). Adopted and biological children in the clinic: Family, parental and child characteristics. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 545-562.
6. Cox, J., Paley, B., Burchinal, M., & Payne, C. C. (1999). Marital perceptions and interactions across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 611-625.
7. Daniluk, J. C., & Hurtig-Mitchell, J. (2003). Themes of hope and healing: Infertile couples' experiences of adoption. Journal of Counseling and Development, 81, 389-399.
8. Dean, C., Dean, N. R., White, A., & Liu, W. Z. (1995). An adoption study comparing the prevalence of psychiatric illness in women who have adoptive and natural children compared with women who have adoptive children only. Journal of Affective Disorders, 34, 55-60.
9. Essex, M., Kraemer, H. C., Armstrong, J. M., Boyce, W. T., Goldsmith, H., Klein, M. H., et al. (2006). Exploring risk factors for the emergence of children's mental health problems. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 1246-1256.
10. Fagot, B. I. (1995). Development of a pleasure in parenting scale. Early Development and Parenting, 4(1), 75-82.
11. Fontenot, H. B. (2007). Transition and adaptation to adoptive motherhood. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 36, 175-182.
12. Forbes, H., & Dziegielewski, S. F. (2003). Issues facing adoptive mothers of children with special needs. Journal of Social Work, 3, 301-320.
13. Gair, S. (1999). Distress and depression in new motherhood: Research with adoptive mothers highlights important contributing factors. Child and Family Social Work, 4,55-66.
14. Gavin, N. I., Gaynes, B. N., Lohr, K. N., Meltzer-Brody, S., Gartlehner, G., & Swin- son, T. (2005). Perinatal depression: A systematic review of prevalence and incidence. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 106, 1071-1083.
15. Gjerdingen, D. K., & Center, B. A. (2003). First-time parents' prenatal to postpartum changes in health, and the relation of postpartum health to work and partner characteristics. The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 16, 304-311.
16. Gjerdingen, D. K., & Froberg, D. (1991). The fourth stage of labor: The health of birth mothers and adoptive mothers at 6 weeks postpartum. Family Medicine, 23,29-35.
17. Glade, A., Bean, R., & Vira, R. (2005). A prime time for marital/relational inter- ventions: A review of the transition to parenthood literature with treatment recommendations. American Journal of Family Therapy, 33, 319-336.
18. Glidden, L. M. (2000). Adopting children with developmental disabilities: A long-term perspective. Family Relations, 49, 397-405.
19. Glidden, L. M., & Floyd, F. J. (1997). Disaggregating parental depression and fam- ily stress in assessing families of children with developmental disabilities: A multisample analysis. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 102, 250-266.
20. Goldberg, A. E., Downing, J. B., & Sauck, C. C. (2007). Choices, challenges, and ten- sions: Perspectives of prospective lesbian adoptive parents. Adoption Quarterly, 10,33-63.
21. Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2008). Social support and psychological well-being in lesbian and heterosexual preadoptive couples. Family Relations, 57, 281-294.
22. Goodman, J. H. (2004). Postpartum depression beyond the early postpartum period. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 33, 410-420.
23. Hollenstein, T., Leve, L. D., Scaramella, L. V., Milfort, R., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2003). Openness in adoption, knowledge of birthparent information and adoptive family adjustment. Adoption Quarterly, 7, 43-52.
24. Judge, S. (2003). Determinants of parental stress in families adopting children from Eastern Europe. Family Relations, 52, 241-248.
25. Kadushin, G. (2004). Home health care utilization: A review of the research for social work. Health & Social Work, 29, 219.
26. Lazarus, C., Evans, J. N., Glidden, L. M., & Flaherty, E. M. (2002). Transracial adop- tion of children with development disabilities: A focus on parental and family adjustment. Adoption Quarterly, 6, 7-24.
27. Leve, L. D., Scaramella, L. V., & Fagot, B. L. (2001). Infant temperament, pleasure in parenting, and marital happiness in adoptive families. Infant Mental Health Journal, 22, 545-558.
28. Levy-Shiff, R., Goldshmidt, I., & Har-Even, D. (1991). Transition to parenthood in adoptive families. Developmental Psychology, 27, 131-140.
29. Mainemer, H., Gilman, L. C., & Ames, E. W. (1998). Parenting stress in families adopting children from Romanian orphanages. Journal of Family Issues, 19, 164-180.
30. Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Howie, P., & Kavanagh, D. J. (2003). Diagnosing postpartum depression in mothers and fathers: Whatever happened to anxiety? Journal of Affective Disorders, 74, 139-147.
31. Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Ungerer, J., & Waters, B. (2000). Paternal and maternal depressed mood during the transition into parenthood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 60, 75-85.
32. Mayberry, L. J., Horowitz, J. A., & Declercq, E. (2007). Depression symptom preva- lence and demographic risk factors among U.S. women during the first 2 years postpartum. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 36, 542-549.
33. McCarty, C., Waterman, J., Burge, D., & Edelstein, S. B. (1999). Experiences, con- cerns and service needs of families adopting children with prenatal substance exposure: Summary and recommendations. Child Welfare, 78, 561-577.
34. McDonald, T. P., Propp, J. R., & Murphy, K. C. (2001). The postadoption experience: Child, parent and family predictors of family adjustment to adoption. Child Welfare, 80, 71-94.
35. McGlone, K., Santos, L., Kazama, L., Fong, R., & Mueller, C. (2002). Psychological stress in adoptive parents of special-needs children. Child Welfare, 81, 151-171.
36. McKay, K., & Ross, L. E. (2010). The transition to adoptive parenthood: A pilot study of parents adopting in Ontario, Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 32,604-610.
37. Nomura, Y., Wickramaratne, P. J., Warner, V., Mufson, L., & Weissman, M. M. (2002). Family discord, parental depression, and psychopathology in offspring: Ten- year follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychi- atry, 41, 402-409.
38. Nyström, K., & Öhrling, K. (2004). Parenthood experiences during the child's first year: Literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 46, 319-330.
39. Patterson, G. R. (1983). Stress: A change agent for family process. In N. Garmezy, M. Rutter, & R. D. Ciaranello (Eds.), Stress, coping & development in children (pp. 235-264). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
40. Patterson, J. M., & Garwick, A. W. (1994). Levels of meaning in family stress theory. Family Process, 33, 287-304.
41. Petch, J., & Halford, W. K. (2008). Psycho-education to enhance couples' transition to parenthood. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 1125-1137.
42. Rini, C., Dunkel, C., Hobel, C. J., Glynn, L. M., & Sandman, C. A. (2006). Effec- tive social support: Antecedents and consequences of partner support during pregnancy. Personal Relationships, 13, 207-229.
43. Rothman, J., Damron-Rodriquez, J., & Shenassa, E. (1994). Systematic research syn- thesis: Conceptual integration methods of meta-analysis. In J. Rothman & E. J. Thompson (Eds.), Intervention research: Design and development for human service (pp. 133-160). New York, NY: Haworth.
44. Ross, L. E., Dennis, C-L., Robertson Blackmore, E., & Stewart, D. E. (2005). Post- partum depression: A guide for front-line health and social service providers. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
45. Ryan, S., & Whitlock, C. (2008). Becoming parents: Lesbian mothers' adoption ex- perience. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 19, 1-23.
46. Semyr, L., Edhborg, M., Lundh, W., & Sjogren, B. (2004). In the shadow of ma- ternal depressed mood: Experiences of parenthood during the first year af- ter childbirth. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 25, 23-34.
47. Senecky, Y., Agassi, H., Inbar, D., Hoersh, N., Diamond, G., Bergman, Y. S., et al. (2009). Post-adoption depression among adoptive mothers. Journal of Affective Disorders, 115, 62-68.
48. Thompson, J. F., Roberts, C. L., Currie, M., & Ellwood, D. A. (2002). Prevalence and persistence of health problems after childbirth: Associations with parity and method of birth. Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, 29, 83-94.
49. Veit, C. T., & Ware, J. E. Jr. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well- being in general populations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51,730-742.
50. Walsh, J., Schofield, S., Harris, G., Vostanis, P., Oyebode, F., & Coulthard, H. (2009). Attachment and coping strategies in middle childhood children whose mothers have a mental health problem: Implications for social work practice. British Journal of Social Work, 39, 81-98.
51. Ward, M. (1998). The impact of adoption on the new parents' marriage. Adoption Quarterly, 2, 57-78.
52. Wegar, K. (1995). Adoption and mental health: A theoretical critique of the psy- chopathological model. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 65, 540-548.
53. Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Nomura, Y., Warner, V., Verdeki, H., Pilowsky, D. J., et al. (2005). Families at high and low risk for depression: A 3-generation study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 29-36.
54. Zelkowitz, P., & Milet, T. H. (2001). The course of postpartum psychiatric disorders in women and their partners. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 189, 575-582.