Post-Adoption Perinatal Grief and Parenting Future Children in the Home: The Moderating Roles of Social Support and Parental Substance Use

SYNOPSIS: Objective. 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. Design. We applied an adoption design that consisted of a sample of birth mothers (N = 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 birth mother’s child was raising at home 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. Results. 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. Conclusions. 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.