Maternal marital satisfaction during the first six months following international adoption

Abstract

International adoption can be a rewarding way for parents to build a family and many varied factors contribute to a positive adoption outcome. In particular, the period of adjustment just prior to and following an international adoption is a major transition for the adoptive family. Positive outcomes are related to both lower parental stress and higher marital satisfaction of the adoptive parents, and strong marital support is a protective factor (Mainemer, Gilman and Ames, 1998). Examining the marital relationship during this time of transition may bring understanding of the effects of the adoption process on the parents’ marital relationship; identifying characteristics that indicate susceptibility to marital discord and possible areas for intervention increases the chances of a positive adoption outcome. This study examined 49 mothers’ perceptions of marital satisfaction, marital happiness and personal stress in the weeks preceding and the months following an international adoption. Women are often the primary caregivers of the newly adopted child and mothers tend to indicate distress during this period, therefore this investigation focused on the maternal viewpoint. The sample included children who had been designated as special needs in the country of origin as well as others who had not. The findings suggest that marriages with positive perceptions and satisfaction prior to adoption fare best during the early months post-adoption. Older women reported less positive perceptions of their marriages and spouses; therefore, mothers beyond childbearing age may benefit from further support.

Keywords

Marriage adoption family relationships international adoption mothers adjustment to parenthood

Introduction

The rates of international adoption have declined in recent years, but many children worldwide continue to find homes outside of their natal country via the adoption process. Most international programmes require that prospective parents be married and heterosexual. Although two parents are usually involved in this process, each may experience the adoption differently. The quality and strength of the marital relationship may be a mitigating factor in the outcome of the family and the adoption.

Although an initial focus of the adoption literature examined the adjustment to adoptive parenthood, less attention has been paid to the quality of marital relationships within an adoptive family. For a preliminary examination of this relationship, this study focused on maternal marital perception during and after the international adoption process. The maternal viewpoint is particularly important as mothers are often the primary caregivers once their children come home (Hall, Walker and Acock, 1995; Umberson, 1989). Mothers also typically bear a heavier burden of stress with the addition of a new child to the family – biological or adopted (Beckman, 1991; Crnic and Acevedo, 1995; Hawkins, Amato and King, 2006; Judge, 2003). The weeks prior to travelling and the first few months after adoption are filled with many changes and adjustments that may challenge a marriage and mothers experience this period of transition differently from fathers (Belsky and Pensky, 1988; Belsky, Spanier and Rovine, 1983; Hackel and Ruble, 1992; Martin and Rosenhauer, 2015; Miller and Sollie, 1980).

Adoptive mothers

The experience of women becoming mothers via adoption is a major transition that can be compared to that of biological parenting, minus pregnancy (Senecky, et al., 2009). The adoptive mothers’ experiences are unique in that they may also be layered with issues related to infertility, evaluation as a potential parent by social workers, prejudice due to unconventionality and the overall instability of the adoption process (Brodzinsky and Huffman, 1988). Therefore, the transition to motherhood via adoption is characterised by a challenging initial adjustment period (Brodzinsky and Huffman, 1988; Levy-Shiff, Goldshmidt and Har-Even, 1991; Rosenberg, 1992). Even after she becomes a parent, many adjustment factors continue to affect a mother’s experience. This includes bonding with her new child, reconstructing her role as a parent within the family unit, dealing with the child’s physical, emotional and mental needs, balancing her spousal relationship and managing her life beyond the child (Barth and Berry, 1988; Barth and Miller, 2000; Bird, Peterson and Miller, 2002).

Umberson (1989) found that women’s relationships with their children were more complex and rich compared to their husband’s, concluding that mothers bore both more strain and more reward from the parental role. Although increased parental stress may not be a universal experience, the struggles mothers experience during and after adoption are often balanced by a deep desire for their children, fortified with maternal resilience and sustained through a strong support system (Rijk, et al., 2006).

There are contradictory findings regarding whether or not child characteristics affect maternal adjustment and stress. Viana and Welsh (2010) found no relationship between a child’s age, sex or special needs status on reported maternal stress post-adoption. However, others have found such a relationship and specifically indicate that the adoption of a boy, an older child or a child with special needs puts mothers at increased risk for parental stress (Coon, et al., 1992; Rosenthal and Groze, 1990).

A new mother’s successful navigation of these changes is dependent on her ability to cope. One of the strongest resources mothers have for this is the support of their spouses and extended family (Bird, et al., 2002; Beehr, King and King, 1990; Logsdon and Davis, 2003; Pearlin, 1989; Wilkins, 2006). Mothers are at greater risk for distress and problems without a strong marital and family support system (Gottlieb, 1994; McCubbin and McCubbin, 1988). Their perception of these resources, particularly spousal support, may affect their adjustment to the adoption.

Marital satisfaction

Studies specifically focusing on the addition of a biological child to an existing family indicate this to be a period of modest stress and crisis (Belsky, Lang and Rovine, 1985). Unlike fathers, mothers tend to show a steeper decline in marital satisfaction almost immediately after the birth of a child (Shapiro, Gottman and Carrère, 2000). Women’s early marital dissatisfaction is predictive of future reported marital dissatisfaction among the fathers (Belsky, Lang and Rovine, 1985). Although this drop in marital satisfaction by both parents is present throughout the first year after the arrival of a baby, it is usually modest and typically balanced by positive thoughts about parenting and happiness about the new child (Belsky and Pensky, 1988; Cowan and Cowan, 1995). Belsky and colleagues (1983) found that individuals who were most positive (or negative) about their marriages prior to the arrival of a baby were the same parents who made the most positive (or negative) appraisals during the first year of the new child’s life. These studies also suggest that mothers with biological children who perceived their husbands to be supportive and involved felt less anxiety and greater psychological well-being during the first months after birth (Stapleton, et al., 2012).

Notwithstanding the increased challenges faced by adopting internationally, adoptive parents typically have stable marriages and report high satisfaction within their marital relationships (Grotevant, McRoy and Jenkins, 1988; Levy-Shiff, Goldschmidt and Har-Even, 1991). Despite the added stressors that adoptive parents face, research suggests that they do not experience more negativity within their families than do new biological ones (Ceballo, et al., 2004). At best, this research is limited and relies heavily on support from studies of marriages with biological children, because few studies to date have assessed the marital relationship as it specifically relates to the adoption process.

A significant source of stress reported in marriages is the arrival of a child. In adoptive families, as in biological families, the adjustment to this new child can strain a mother and father, affect their relationship and often results in temporary lower marital happiness (Brodzinsky and Huffman, 1988; Crnic and Acevedo, 1995; Glenn and McLananhan, 1982; Levy-Shiff, Goldschmidt and Har-Even, 1991; White, Booth and Edwards, 1986). This adjustment is further stressed when mothers perceive that partner support is not present (Lavee, Sharlin and Katz, 1996). A lack of partner support is one of many stressors impacting a new family. Like maternal stress, sources of newly adoptive parents’ stress have been attributed to a variety of sources. These include characteristics related to the new child – e.g. the presence of medical and other special needs, difficult temperaments, child behavioural problems and irregular schedules (Crnic and Acevedo, 1995; Mash and Johnson, 1990; Rosenthal and Groze, 1990) – and those related to the family, such as lack of social support, higher number of previous children and advanced maternal age (Österberg and Hagekull, 2000).

Perhaps not unique to adoptive families, research suggests that as mothers spend more time and energy on their newly adopted children, less attention is directed to their partners. This can lead to a disruption of interaction between the parents, resulting in conflict, fighting and lower marital satisfaction (Kurdek, 1993; White, Booth and Edwards, 1986). Positive marital satisfaction is related to lower stress experienced by the parents; positive adoption outcome is related to both lower parental stress and higher marital satisfaction in the parents (Judge, 2003; Lavee, Sharlin and Katz, 1996). One reason that adoptive parents report higher marital satisfaction than biological families may be because adoptive families typically spend more time waiting for the arrival of a new child (Ceballo, et al., 2004). This waiting may create more longing and desire for the addition of the new family member.

Collectively, this provides a limited overview of typical marital satisfaction and happiness within adoptive families, but two areas of further inquiry have not been adequately addressed. Most studies of adoption and marriage either look at marriage satisfaction from one time point in the new family’s life or measure it from varying points following adoption. Because the addition of an adoptive child can also produce stress prior to the adoption and because the adoptive child is joining a family with an already established marriage partnership with its own history and stressors, the present study examined the early moments both pre- and post-adoption. Second, while both parents contribute to a marriage, each may experience the adoption and marriage differently and this should be examined as separate variables. Because mothers report more stress than fathers when adding a new member to the family (Beckman, 1991), we concentrated on the mothers’ experiences with marriage satisfaction, stress and happiness. The adjustment to parenthood for mothers and fathers also seems to follow a different timeline. For example, there is evidence that maternal depression in non-adoptive mothers follows a different course than paternal depression, with an earlier onset of depressive symptoms in the mothers compared to fathers (Goodman, 2004). Additionally, mothers were used as participants in this study because previous work reported difficulty in obtaining an adequate response rate from newly adoptive fathers (e.g. Foli, et al., 2013). Although not a requirement for participation, all mothers in our sample identified as the primary caregivers of the newly adopted children.

The present study

The primary goal of this study was to examine maternal perception of marital satisfaction, marital happiness and personal stress in the weeks preceding and months following an international adoption. We hypothesised that women who reported higher marital satisfaction prior to adoption would continue to report higher levels afterwards. Belsky, Spanier and Rovine (1983) found that parents who were strongly polarised, either positively or negatively, before having children would remain similarly polarised after the arrival of a new child. We also predicted that older women, who were likely to have been married longer, would report higher relationship satisfaction and happiness due to outlasting a period identified as an early divorce risk (Cherlin, 1981). Further, we hypothesised that mothers adopting for the first time, without previous biological children, would report higher levels of stress within their marital relationship because their lack of parenting experience would bring unexpected adjustments. Due to the changing nature of international adoption programmes, a significant proportion of families enrolled in this study was adopting children with varying special needs status. These included physical abnormalities but not mental disabilities, with the exception of developmental delays related to institutional care. For this reason, special needs status was also examined as a possible contributing factor toward marital assessment and personal stress.

Method

Participants

The participants in this investigation were 49 heterosexually identified, married women who were in the immediate process of adopting a child under the age of five from an international adoption programme. Mothers were recruited from targeted advertisements placed in online pre-adoption support groups. An initial email screener was sent to parents to identify participant criteria. If mothers qualified, consent was signed and dates for the first mailing were identified.

Families lived in the USA (51%), Canada (18%), England (6%), Australia (2%) and Spain (2%) when enrolled in the study; they were adopting children from programmes in China (70%), Ethiopia (12%), Latin America (7%), Taiwan (7%) and Russia (4%). In general, the sample can be described as upper middle class and well educated (Tables 1 and 2). All mothers identified themselves as the planned primary caregivers for the new children. Among the criteria for inclusion was that mothers respond to all surveys sent in three different mailings. From a larger initial pool of 53 participating mothers, four were eliminated from the final sample because they failed to return the second wave of questionnaires. These rates are higher than those typically found in studies using mail methodology (Lepkowski and Couper, 2002). The final 49 participants all responded to the third mailing and comprised the sample for this study.

Table 1.

Parental demographic characteristics.

Variable	n = 49	%
Mother
Age in Years: Mean (SD) = 42.33 (4.461)
Education
Some college	6	12
College graduate	16	33
Master’s Degree	20	41
PhD	6	14
Ethnicity
Asian	3	6
Caucasian	40	93
Hispanic	6	12
Father
Age in years: Mean (SD) = 44.28 (5.750)
Education
High school graduate	1	2
Some college	7	16
College graduate	14	29
Master’s Degree	16	33
PhD	11	10
Ethnicity
Asian	2	4
Caucasian	42	86
Hispanic	5	10
Family characteristics
Annual income
$60k–70k	2	4
$70k–80k	4	8
$80k–90k	4	8
$90k–100k	8	16
$100k or more	31	63
Number of children prior to adoption
None	17	35
One	14	29
Two	10	20
Three	3	6
Four	2	4
Five	2	4
Six	1	2
Number of prior marriages
Mother
None	44	90
One	5	10
Father
None	45	92
One	4	8
Primary reason for adoption
Infertility	23	46
Growing family through adoption	18	36

Table 2.

Children’s demographic characteristics.

Variable (n = 43)	n	%
Age at adoption (months): Mean (SD)
Range
Child’s sex
Male	10	23
Female	33	77
Country of origin
China	30	70
Ethiopia	5	12
Russia	2	4
Latin America	3	7
Other Asia	3	7
Adoption circumstance
Abandoned	41	95
Relinquished	2	5
Environment prior to adoption
Orphanage	31	72
Foster care	3	7
Combination	9	21
Classification
Special needs	24	56
Non-special needs	19	44

Procedure

Mailing 1 was delivered six weeks prior to travel and included measures of family demographics (mother, father, child and adoption information) and baseline stress and marital satisfaction levels. This first mailing also identified when travel and the adoption were taking place and therefore established the timeline for the next two mailings. Mailing 2 was mailed and waiting when the mothers returned from their adoption trip, and mothers were instructed to open and complete it at six weeks post-adoption. In the case of Russian and Ethiopian adoptions, this packet was filled out six weeks after the second and final adoption trip. Finally, Mailing 3 was delivered for completion at six months post-adoption.

Instruments

Demographics

Mothers were asked to report on demographics commonly measured in adoption research, including personal and child characteristics (Mailing 1).

Marital Happiness Scale

This scale estimated current marital happiness through 10 dimensions (Azrin, Naster and Jones, 1973) and was used to identify happiness and pleasure within the marriage. The survey included four main items: household responsibilities, rearing of children, communication and spousal independence. Mothers were asked to reflect on the following question in relation to each of the categories provided: ‘If my partner continues to act in the future as he is acting today with respect to this marriage area, how happy will I be with this area of our marriage?’ Mothers scored each item between one and 10 with a one indicating complete unhappiness with that category and a 10 indicating complete happiness. Additive total scores have a maximum of 100 points. Higher scores represented greater reported marital happiness (Mailings 1, 2 and 3).

Index of Marital Satisfaction

This questionnaire, originally called the Marital Satisfaction Survey, was designed to measure the degree of marital satisfaction reported by one spouse within his/her marriage (Mitchell, Newell and Schumm, 1983). This item was chosen to identify fulfilment and contentment within the marriage. Mothers answered 25 scale-oriented questions. For example, ‘My partner really doesn’t understand me’ (question 7) and ‘Our relationship is very stable’ (question 19). Mothers indicated their responses with a score of one to seven, with one indicating that the statement never applies and a seven indicating that it applies all of the time. Some items were reversed scored. When calculated, higher scores indicated lower levels of marital satisfaction (the opposite direction of the Marital Happiness Scale) (Mailings 1, 2 and 3).

Relationship Assessment Scale

This seven-item scale measured general relationship satisfaction (Hendrick, 1988). It was used as a secondary measure to the above scales because it evaluates a criterion that falls between marital happiness and satisfaction. Mothers were asked to identify social comparisons to other relationships as well as to evaluate their own feelings toward their relationship and spouse. Higher overall scores indicated more positive feelings regarding the relationship (Mailings 1, 2 and 3).

Parental Stress Scale

This scale evaluated the feelings and perceptions of mothers and indicated stress from parenting (Berry and Jones, 1995). Parents answered 18 scale-oriented questions with a score of one to five, with a five indicating that they strongly agreed with the statement. Statements reflected on various topics, including the financial impact of the new child, the closeness the mother felt to the child, their satisfaction as a parent and the stressful behaviour of the child. Higher scores indicated higher stress levels experienced by the mothers (Mailings 2 and 3).

Data analysis

Material from the three mailings was analysed using three (time point) X 2 (special needs status) repeated measures ANOVAs. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether there were any significant differences between the means calculated on each survey between the three time points. Further, planned contrasts were used to analyse interactions, with a Bonferroni correction of α = 0.05/2 = 0.025 in each case. The correction was used to adjust significance values (P) as multiple statistical tests were performed simultaneously on a single dataset. The statistical power of the study was calculated based on this adjusted P value. This adjustment decreased the possibility of obtaining false-positive results (type I errors) and so reduced the probability that positive results would be reported by chance.

Results

Descriptive statistics

Descriptive analyses were conducted to investigate the demographics of the parents (Table 1) and children (Table 2) included in this sample. There were no significant demographic differences of parents or children based on the adoption’s country of origin. Most participants had not been married prior to the current relationship (over 90% of mothers and over 92% of fathers). Older mothers reported longer marriages (M = 9.87, SD = 2.57) than younger mothers, (M = 6.46, SD = 2.23). Further, no statistical differences were found in any outcome variable when children’s country of origin was examined.

Maternal marital assessment

Consistency in assessment over time

Scores on each scale at six weeks pre-adoption were correlated with scores at six weeks and six months post-adoption to assess for change or consistency in satisfaction levels. Mothers who indicated high Marital Satisfaction Scale scores at six weeks before their adoptions also received high scores at six weeks (r = .419, p = .005) and at six months (r = .373, p = .014) post-adoption. Between six weeks and six months after adoption, maternal reported scores were also correlated (r = .442, p = .003). On the Index of Marital Satisfaction scores, where lower scores indicate more satisfaction, mothers who reported low satisfaction at six weeks prior to adoption also reported low satisfaction at six weeks after adoption (r = −.312, p = .042) as well as at six months post-adoption (r = −.368, p = .003). Scores at six weeks and six months after adoption were also correlated (r = −.514, p = .000). Mothers who scored high on the Relationship Assessment Scale at six weeks prior to adopting also reported high scores at six weeks after adoption (r = .353, p = .042); there was also a correlation between six weeks and six months post-adoption (r = .336, p = .028). Finally, mothers who reported high Parental Stress Scale scores at six weeks after adoption also reported high stress scores after six months (r = .439, p = .003).

Age of mothers

At six weeks prior to adoption, maternal age was negatively correlated with scores on the Marital Happiness Scale, whereby older mothers reported lower happiness (r = −.359, p = .018). Maternal age was also negatively correlated with scores on the Relationship Assessment Scale, indicating that older maternal age was related to a lower relationship assessment (r = −.314, p = .041) (Table 3). At six weeks post-adoption, maternal age was again negatively correlated with the Marital Happiness Scale, indicating that older mothers reported less marital satisfaction (r = −.441, p = .003). At six months post-adoption, maternal age was positively correlated with Index of Marital Satisfaction scores, indicating that maternal age was related to lower satisfaction (higher scores indicated less satisfaction) (r = .326, p = .033). Maternal age also trended towards a negative correlation with Relationship Assessment scores (r = −.283, p = .066). Age of spouse was not related to any marriage variables.

Table 3.

Pearson’s correlations of mother’s age and number of children at home, with four scales of marriage satisfaction and parental stress.

	Marital Happiness Scale (MHS)			Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS)			Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS)			Parental Stress Scale (PSS)
	Pre	6 wks	6 mths	Pre	6 wks	6 mths	Pre	6 wks	6 mths	6 wks	6 mths
Mother’s age	−.359*	−.441**	−.223	.256	.224	.326*	−.314*	−.223	−.283	.265	.059
Children in the home	.086	.280	.320*	−.264	−.141	−.240	.320*	.228	.047	−.031	−.191

Note. *=p ≤ .05, **=p ≤ .01.

Children

A little over half of the mothers (56%) chose adoption because of infertility issues (Table 1). A significant proportion of mothers had no children in the home prior to adoption (35%). Six weeks before adopting, mothers who had more children in the home reported higher Relationship Assessment scores (positive assessment) (r = .320, p = .037) and lower Index of Marital Satisfaction scores, also indicating more positive satisfaction with their marriages (r = −.264, p = .05) (Table 3). Six weeks after their adoptions, the number of children prior to the adoption was again negatively correlated with Index of Marital Satisfaction scores (r = −.141, p = .047). At six months post-adoption, higher numbers of prior children were correlated with higher Marital Happiness Scale scores, again indicating mothers reporting more happiness regarding the marriages (r = .320, p = .037).

Non-special needs versus special needs children

From this sample, the children adopted with special needs status were older (M = 823.36 days, SD = 437.53) compared to children without it (M = 469.33 days, SD = 179.81). Thus it was important to examine whether the age of the adopted child was related to marital cohesion. Using an ANCOVA with age of the adopted child as a covariate, there were no main effects of adoptive time point on any of the marriage scales, or an interaction between time point and the age of the children. However, time period (before, six weeks after or six months after) interacted with special needs status (F (2,49) = 7.992, p = 0.001, partial η²= 0.0.184).

There was an interaction between the quadratic trend of time point and special needs status (F (1,49) = 14.327, p = 0.001), which confirms that a significant drop (quadratic trend) was bigger for the non-special needs group than the special needs group. Mothers adopting children with special needs reported positive Marital Happiness Scale scores at all three time points, but mothers adopting children without special needs classification reported a significant dip in these scores after six weeks, which returned to pre-adoption levels after six months. There were no main effects for the Index of Marital Satisfaction scores on time point, nor an interaction of special needs status in regard to time points. Examining the Relationship Assessment scores, there was no main effect of time point or interaction effect with child’s age as measured in days; however, there was a significant interaction of child age with special needs status (F (2,49) = 3.790, p = 0.031, partial η²= 0.0.163). Mothers adopting special needs children reported higher Relationship Satisfaction Scale scores six weeks prior to adoption and six weeks afterwards. A post hoc contrast confirmed that the linear trend of time point interacted with special needs status (F (1,49) = 7.775, p = 0.008), while the interaction of special needs with the quadratic trend was not significant.

Parental stress

There was a main effect of time point on the Parental Stress Scale scores (F (2,49) = 5.832, p = 0.02, partial η²= 0.0.127). There was a significant interaction of time point with child’s age (F (2,49) = 7.960, p = 0.007, partial η²= 0.0.161) and a significant interaction between stress and maternal age (F (2,49) = 5.967, p = 0.002). Further, there was a significant interaction of children’s age with special needs status (F (2,49) = 7.683, p = 0.008, partial η²= 0.0.161). Mothers adopting children without special needs reported higher levels of parental stress at six weeks post adoption than those adopting children with special needs. Although stress levels in the non-special needs mothers decreased at six months post-adoption, the stress levels of the special needs mothers increased slightly. Older mothers reported higher Parental Stress Scale scores compared to younger mothers at six months compared to six weeks post-adoption.

Discussion

The research on marriages in newly adoptive families has typically taken measurements at one time point and these results have been assumed to represent a collective experience over time. Instead, this study assessed marital happiness and satisfaction from the perspective of mothers as they waited to adopt internationally and began to navigate through the first six months with their spouses and new children. This time point was chosen because it covered the span of new adjustment and transition for the family. Longitudinal examinations have been conducted with biological families but none have been undertaken with adoptive ones. The present study focused on newly adoptive mothers’ perceptions about their marriages because previous studies indicated that mothers move through the adjustment to parenthood process quicker and differently than fathers (Goodman, 2004). Their unique experience relates not just to their relationship to their children, but also to the partnership they share with their husbands.

We hypothesised that mothers who reported higher marital satisfaction prior to adoption would continue to report positive feelings afterwards. Consistent with our hypothesis, mothers’ scores remained constant across all time points before and during adoption. Overall, these findings are consistent with past research linking prior expectations on the marriage to equivalent feelings post-arrival of a child (Belsky, Spanier and Rovine, 1983). The one exception to this finding was that mothers assessed their relationships differently on the Relationship Assessment Scale at six months pre-adoption compared to six months post-adoption. This divergence from the general pattern may be due to the heavy weight the Relationship Assessment Scale gives to the amount of time spent by partners supporting mothers’ needs. With the arrival of a new child, the spouse may be focusing more time on the child’s needs compared to the mother’s. Parents who enter into the adoption process with positive feelings about their marriage may receive additional protection from the naturally occurring stresses of international adoption. More inquiry is needed to delineate how marriage satisfaction is related to perceptions of support and how each of these contributes to positive adoption outcomes. It is possible that an evaluation of marital satisfaction prior to the adoption would identify families who could benefit from additional support during the pre-adoption process to better facilitate the positive relational qualities that contribute to successful international adoption outcomes.

The second question posed by this study was whether older or younger mothers would report higher marital satisfaction scores. Contrary to our hypothesis, older maternal age was related to lower Marital Happiness Scale scores prior to adoption and at six weeks afterwards. Younger mothers, who had higher scores, felt more content and appreciative of their husbands’ actions and contributions to their marriages. In a normative study of this scale, couples who scored high demonstrated characteristics of equitable affectionate behaviour and feelings of pleasure in their spouses (Robinson and Price, 1980). Tying these findings to the present study, the Marital Happiness Scale results suggest that the younger mothers’ reports of positive feelings may be a reflection of reciprocal feelings from their husbands. Older mothers reported higher stress at six months post-adoption compared to younger mothers. Higher reported stress levels in more mature parents have also been reported in other studies (Mainemer, Gilman and Ames, 1998; Österberg and Hagekull, 2000).

Adoptive families tend to include older parents (Levy-Shiff, Zoran and Shulman, 1997) and in our sample over half the mothers were above average childbearing age. At the conclusion of the six-month study, older mothers reported lower Marital Satisfaction Scale scores compared to younger ones. As maternal age increased, so did their reported Index of Marital Satisfaction scores, indicating that older mothers were less satisfied with their marriages. This scale uses more ‘I’ statements, such as ‘I feel . . . about my marriage’, and thus may be more sensitive to mothers’ personal perceptions of their relationships. Perhaps older mothers who had been married longer accumulated more conflict within their relationships. This group of mothers may have been less tolerant of wavering support from their spouses during the early adoption adjustment period. It may be that these mothers sought children in order to remedy problems within their marriages.

We also hypothesised that mothers without previous children who were adopting for the first time would report elevated stress levels post-adoption. Contradicting other studies (e.g. Mainemer, Gilman and Ames, 1998), mothers with children in their families prior to adoption reported higher Relationship Assessment Scale scores and lower Index of Marital Satisfaction scores. Collectively, this indicated that these mothers felt more positive about their marriages. Furthermore, mothers with children already in the home continued to have lower Index of Marital Satisfaction scores at six weeks after their adoptions and at six months reported higher Marital Happiness Scale scores, both indicating a more positive endorsement of the relationship. Prior experience with children in the family may have prepared the couple’s relationship and resulted in smoother and happier interactions during the transition period. It could also be that having already adjusted to the role of mothering, these mothers may be better equipped to divide their time between their children and spouses. Additionally, a number of mothers in this study reported that infertility was the primary reason for initiating this adoption. Even with children already in the family, mothers may still be struggling with these issues in relation to building their families. Adopting due to infertility, however, was not related to negative marital satisfaction in this sample, even though other studies have shown otherwise (Monga, et al., 2004). There may be more variation in this connection between infertility-motivated adoption and marital satisfaction that has yet to be captured.

Most of the families in this sample had at least one child before going on to adopt (65%). However, the few previous related studies that focused specifically on maternal stress and adoption in first-time parents sampled parents who did not have children already in the home (e.g. Ternay, Wilborn and Day, 1985). These studies indicated that mothers with depressive symptoms prior to the adoption were more likely to report stress post-adoption (Abidin, 1990; Beck, 2001; Martin and Rosenhauer, 2015). For the purposes of this study, maternal psychological functioning was not measured.

Mothers adopting special needs children reported positive Marital Happiness Scale scores at all three time points. Those adopting non-special needs children reported negative scores at six weeks post-adoption, but returned to pre-adoption levels by six months. Many families report lower stress and higher positive outcomes in special needs adoptions (Brooks and Barth, 1999; Martin and Rosenhauer, 2015). Child characteristics, such as special needs status, were considered unrelated to reports of stress and marital unhappiness in adoptive families (Martin and Rosenhauer, 2015; Viana and Welsh, 2010). It has even been argued that the marital relationship may be strengthened in families with a disabled child (Holmbeck, et al., 1997; Kazak and Marvin, 1984). This is not always the case as others report that special needs adoption is more stressful on families (Judge, 2003; Palacios and Sánchez-Sandoval, 2006; Rijk, et al., 2006; Rosenthal and Groze, 1990). Collectively, these differing results suggest that positive outcomes in adoption are related to a multi-layered interplay of parental, marriage and child characteristics.

In adoption programmes, parents can select children with special needs status. The positive outcomes may stem from the fact that parents are given a choice when selecting a child with special needs. Martin and Rosenhauer (2015) argued that parents adopting children with special needs specifically chose this route and often get more information about the children prior to finalising their adoptions. The more difficult aspects of adopting a child with identified special needs may be balanced by mental preparation and support from doctors and therapists.

Limitations and future directions

This study is not without limitations. The participants were mostly homogenous in regards to ethnicity, income and other variables, and for purposes of marital analysis were limited to heterosexual, married families. Additional examination of a more heterogeneous group would better reflect the diversity of adoptive parents worldwide and provide further insight into the factors at play in the relationship of adoptive parents. While this study examined maternal perception of marital satisfaction, future research should look at this from the viewpoint of adoptive fathers as well. Further, we used a convenience sample of mothers who were in online, English-speaking support groups prior to adopting. The extent to which our study generalises to international families remains an open question. The measures selected clearly had strong internal validity and were chosen because they were standardised in the field. These scales quickly measured constructs of marital satisfaction, happiness and personal stress; however, none of them were standardised on marriages and families created through adoption. Finally, demographic characteristics between families were quite varied and this undoubtedly influenced these results. An examination of a more homogenous group of first-time mothers, or mothers who already had adopted a child, would better untangle these additional variables.

Conclusion

Collectively, the findings of this study suggest that marriages with positive perceptions and satisfaction prior to adoption fare best during the early months after adoption. The relationship a mother has with her husband may ebb and flow during the initial stages with the new child, but strong marital support has long been identified as a protective factor for positive adoption experience outcomes (Beehr, King and King, 1990; Logsdon and Davis, 2003; Pearlin, 1989). Research on biological families emphasises that parental satisfaction is closely related, and perhaps dependent, on marital satisfaction (Rogers and White, 1998). It could be that parenting and marital support groups during the first year with the new child help to strengthen the success of families’ outcomes. Mothers beyond childbearing age who are adopting may be at particular risk for stress and marital difficulties and may benefit from further support. Further inquiry into the relationships between the marital relationship and adjustment to adoption could further untangle the complex, multi-layered issues that contribute to positive adoption outcomes and offer opportunities for more specific interventions that efficiently and effectively strengthen those variables that are known to contribute to positive adoption outcomes.

Footnotes

Nicole Martin is a Professor in the Psychology Department, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA.

Anna M Rosenhauer is a doctoral candidate at the Neuroscience Institute of Georgia State University, USA.

M Grant Greco is a Master's student in the Mental Health Counselling programme at Suffolk University, Massachusetts, USA.

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