Depression and anxiety symptoms of british adoptive parents: a prospective four-wave longitudinal study

Anthony, Rebecca E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9503-9562, Paine, Amy L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9025-3719 and Shelton, Katherine H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1311-5291 2019. Depression and anxiety symptoms of british adoptive parents: a prospective four-wave longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16 (24) , -. 10.3390/ijerph16245153

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (598kB)

Abstract

The mental health of birth parents has gained attention due to the serious negative consequences for personal, family, and child outcomes, but depression and anxiety in adoptive parents remains under-recognized. Using a prospective, longitudinal design, we investigated anxiety and depression symptoms in 96 British adoptive parents over four time points in the first four years of an adoptive placement. Depression and anxiety symptom scores were relatively stable across time. Growth curve analysis showed that higher child internalizing scores and lower parental sense of competency at five months post-placement were associated with higher initial levels of parental depressive symptoms. Lower parental sense of competency was also associated with higher initial levels of parental anxiety symptoms. Parents of older children and those with higher levels of parental anxiety and sense of competency at five months post-placement had a steeper decrease in depressive symptoms over time. Support for adoptive families primarily focuses on child adjustment. Our findings suggest that professional awareness of parental mental health post-placement may be necessary, and interventions aimed at improving parents’ sense of competency may be beneficial.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Psychology Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer)
Publisher:	MDPI
ISSN:	1660-4601
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 December 2019
Date of Acceptance:	13 December 2019
Last Modified:	06 May 2023 11:39
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/127633

Citation Data

Cited 7 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item