Perez Erick V, Natsuaki Misaki N, Cioffi Camille C, Neiderhiser Jenae M, Shaw Daniel, Ganiban Jody M, Whitesel Amy L, Leve Leslie D
University of California, Riverside.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California.
Parent Sci Pract. 2024 Oct 30. doi: 10.1080/15295192.2024.2412266.
The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the impact of birth mother's post-adoption perinatal grief - stemming from ambiguous loss - on their perceptions of their parenting years later and the relationship quality they have with the children who they raise; and (b) to evaluate the potential contribution that social support and substance use severity play in moderating the impact of post-adoption perinatal grief.
We applied an adoption design that consisted of a sample of birth mothers ( = 53) who placed one child for adoption at birth and parented another child in their home following the voluntary adoption placement of the adoptee. At 3-6 months postpartum of the adopted child, we measured birth mother's post-adoption perinatal grief, substance use severity, and level of social support received by their friends, family, and community. When the child the birth mother was parenting reached age 7, birth mothers reported on their relationships with that child, including parent-child conflict, parent-child closeness, parenting satisfaction, and sense of efficacy as a parent.
Findings revealed that high post-adoption perinatal grief was associated with increased parent-child conflict. High post-adoption perinatal grief was also associated with low parenting satisfaction, albeit this effect was mitigated in the context of high social support.
Findings suggest that grief following adoption may result in effects that are sustained years later, including compromised relationships and low parenting satisfaction with the child they later raise, although social support may mitigate the potential negative effects of post-adoption perinatal grief on parental satisfaction. Future work should examine the mechanisms linking post-adoption perinatal grief with future parenting.
本研究有两个目的：（a）探讨生母收养后的围产期悲伤（源于模糊丧失）对其多年后养育子女认知以及与所养育子女关系质量的影响；（b）评估社会支持和物质使用严重程度在调节收养后围产期悲伤影响方面的潜在作用。
我们采用了一种收养设计，样本为生母（n = 53），她们在孩子出生时将一个孩子送去收养，并在收养人自愿收养安置后在家中养育另一个孩子。在被收养孩子产后3至6个月，我们测量了生母收养后的围产期悲伤、物质使用严重程度以及她们从朋友、家人和社区获得的社会支持水平。当生母养育的孩子年满7岁时，生母报告她们与该孩子的关系，包括亲子冲突、亲子亲密程度、养育满意度以及为人父母的效能感。
研究结果显示，收养后围产期悲伤程度高与亲子冲突增加有关。收养后围产期悲伤程度高还与养育满意度低有关，尽管在高社会支持的情况下这种影响会减轻。
研究结果表明，收养后的悲伤可能会导致多年后仍持续存在的影响，包括关系受损以及对后来养育的孩子养育满意度低，尽管社会支持可能会减轻收养后围产期悲伤对父母满意度的潜在负面影响。未来的研究应探讨收养后围产期悲伤与未来养育之间的联系机制。
