Journal
ADOPTION QUARTERLY
Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages 125-144Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/10926755.2010.481040
Keywords
adoption; adoptive parenting; post-adoption; health; mental health; relationship quality; transition to parenthood
Categories
Funding
- Canadian Institutes for Health Research
- Ontario Women's Health Council [NOW-84656]
- Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
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Substantial research has been conducted on new parents' adjustment during the transition to biological parenthood. However, very little is known about adjustment experiences during the transition to adoptive parenthood. Such information could assist in creating support systems for adoptive parents similar to those that currently exist for biological parents. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine individual and relational adjustment outcomes during the transition to adoptive parenthood, limited to those studies that examined the immediate post-adoption period through 3 years post-placement. By searching six databases using a variety of keywords including post-adoption, adapt, and parent, 11 research studies were identified that reported on parental mental health, physical health, and intimate partner relationship satisfaction in the immediate post-adoption period. The studies reviewed appear to indicate that post-adoption depression is relatively common, although perhaps less so than depression among biological parents. It is difficult to draw conclusions about physical health and relationship satisfaction as only one study directly assessing each outcome was located. Findings suggest that additional research is warranted to provide a clearer characterization of physical and psychological adaptation to parenthood among adoptive parents.
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