Attachment, Affective Responsiveness, and Cohesion in Adoptive Families: Child and Parent Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Some adoptive families are at risk for problems in family functioning. This study investigated the extent to which attachment to parents and affective responsiveness of the family predicted family cohesion and satisfaction with the adoptive family from both the child's and the parent's perspectives. Using a sample of 50 adopted children and their parents, our findings indicated that attachment to mother was salient in predicting children's perceptions of family cohesion and satisfaction with their adoptive family. Parental ratings of affective responsiveness of the family predicted parents' evaluation of family cohesion and their satisfaction with the adoption. As hypothesized, children and parents differed in their ratings of the cohesion and affective responsiveness of their family, with children reporting lower levels of these constructs than parents. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Adoption
• adopted children
• affective responsiveness
• attachment
• family cohesion
• satisfaction with adoption

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Center for Adoption Support and Education for its contribution to this study as well as the participating families, without whom this project would not have been possible.