A limited number of studies have explored parental depression in the postadoption time periods and these studies frequently lack a social context of the adoptive parent experience. The objective of this study is to form a midrange theoretical interpretation of parental postadoption depression as shared by adoptive parents and experts through a grounded theory approach. Semistructured interviews of adoptive parents, who acknowledge being depressed after the child is placed in the home, and adoption experts are audiotaped, transcribed, and coded to reveal themes. In total, 30 interviews are conducted. Researchers are also participant-observers during an adoptive parent support group meeting. Data reveal recurrent themes in relation to postadoption depression. These themes take into account the various contexts of adoption (international and domestic, public and private, etc.). Parents express unfulfilled and unrealistic expectations in the domains of self, child, family or friends, and society or others. A theoretical model is presented to facilitate the understanding of depression reported by adoptive parents.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
Barth, R.P., Gibbs, D.A., & Siebenaler, K. (2001). Assessing the field of post adoption service: Family needs, program models, and evaluation issues [Literature review]. Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park, NC: University of North Carolina School of Social Work, Jordan Institute for Families, and Research Triangle Institute.
3.
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. ( 1996). Beck Depression Inventory-II: Manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
4.
Bond, J. ( 1995). Post-adoption depression syndrome. Roots and Wings Adoption Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.openadoption.com/articles/PADS.html
5.
Borders, L.D., Black, L.K., & Pasley, B.K. ( 1998). Are adopted children and their parents at greater risk for negative outcomes? Family Relations, 47, 237-241.
6.
Dietz, L., Donahue Jennings, K., Kelley, S.A., & Marshal, M. ( 2009). Maternal depression, paternal psychopathology, and toddlers’ behavior problems. Journal of Clinical & Adolescent Psychology , 38, 48-61.
7.
Fisher, A.P. ( 2003). Still "not quite as good as having your own"? Toward a sociology of adoption. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 335-361.
8.
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.
9.
Hay, D.F., Pawlby, S., Sharp, D., Asten, P., Mills, A., & Kumar, R. ( 2001). Intellectual problems shown by 11-year-old children whose mothers had postnatal depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 871-889.
10.
Honeycutt, J.M., & Ford, S.G. ( 2001). Mental imagery and intrapersonal Communication: A review of research on imagined interactions (IIs) and current developments. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Communication yearbook 25 (pp. 315-345). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Jones, J. ( 2009). Who adopts? Characteristics of women and men who have adopted children? (NCHS Data Brief No. 12). Washington, DC: National Center for Health Statistics.
12.
Levy-Shiff, R., Goldshmidt, I., & Har-Even, D. ( 1991). Transition to parenthood in adoptive families. Developmental Psychology, 27, 131-140.
13.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. ( 1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
14.
McCarthy, H. ( 2005). Post adoption depression: The unacknowledged hazard. International Adoption Articles Directory. Retrieved from http://www.adoptionarticlesdirectory.com/Article/Post-Adoption-Depression-The-Unacknowledged-Hazard/53
15.
Munhall, P.L. ( 2007). Nursing research: A qualitative perspective (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
16.
Narad, C., & Mason, P.W. ( 2004). International adoptions: Myths and realities. Pediatric Nursing, 30, 483-487.
17.
O’Brien, K.M., & Zamostny, K.P. (2003). Understanding adoptive families: An integrative review of empirical research and future directions for counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 679-710.
18.
Ramchandani, P., Stein, A., Evans, J., O’Connor, T.G., & the ALSPAC study team. (2005 ). Paternal depression in the postnatal period and child development: A prospective population study. Lancet, 365, 2201-2205.
19.
Raphel, S. ( 2008). Kinship care and the situation for grandparents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 21, 118-121.
20.
Sandelowski, M., & Barroso, J. ( 2003). Classifying the findings in qualitative studies. Qualitative Health Research, 13, 905-923.
21.
School of Social Work at Illinois State University. ( 2009). Stress and coping in struggling adoptive families. Retrieved from http://www.adoptionresearch.ilstu.edu/projects/stress.shtml
22.
Senecky, Y., Hanoch, A., Inbar, D., Horesh, N., Diamond, G., Bergman, Y.S., et al. (2009). Post-adoption depression among adoptive mothers. Journal of Affective Disorders, 115, 62-68.
23.
State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey. ( 2009). National survey of adopted parents. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/nsap.htm
24.
Tully, E.C., Iacono, W.G., & McGue, M. ( 2008). An adoption study of parental depression as an environmental liability for adolescent depression and childhood disruptive disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 1148-1154.
25.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ( 2004). How many children were adopted in 2000 and 2001?Washington, DC: Child Welfare Information Gateway.
26.
Voice for Adoption. (2009). Encouraging adoption and helping families: The case for refocusing federal funding on post-adoption services. Washington, DC: Author.
27.
Weinberg, M.K., Olson, K.L., Beeghly, M., & Tronick, E.Z. ( 2006). Making up is hard to do, especially for mothers with high levels of depressive symptoms and their infant sons. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 670-683.
28.
Welsh, J.A., Viana, A.G., Petrill, S.A., & Mathias, M.D. ( 2008). Ready to adopt: Characteristics and expectations of preadoptive families pursuing international adoptions. Adoption Quarterly , 11, 176-203.
29.
Zajicek-Farber, M.L. ( 2009). Postnatal depression and infant health practices among high-risk women. Journal of Family Studies, 18, 236-245.
