Child Attachment at Adoption and Three Months
Abstract
by
LINDSEY GREY HOULIHAN
The early attachment of internationally adopted children is a complex process.
Attachment is a physical, social and emotional bond between a child and a caregiver.
This study was a single cohort retrospective longitudinal pilot study examining changes
in attachment in children adopted internationally. A non-random consecutive order
convenience sample of children adopted from an international adoption clinic in the
United States was collected. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to describe and
analyze the quantitative data. The sample (n=36) was comprised on 81.1% (n= 30) girls
and 18.9% (n= 7) boys. The mean age at adoption was 17.58 months (SD= 6.72). The
children were aged 12 to 36 months. China (43.2%), Russia (21.6%) and Guatemala
(13.5%) were the top three countries for international adoption to the United States in the
sample. Child attachment was measured by the Attachment Q-Sort (Waters & Deane,
1985). The children were measured within 30 days of adoption (Time 1) and 90 days
later (Time 2). Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation
between the independent variables (family functioning, parental stress and maternal
responsiveness) with the dependent variable (child attachment). Standardized measures
such as Family Adaptability and Cohesions Scales (FACES-II) (Olsen, 1985), the
Parental Stress Index – Short Form (Abidin, 1997) and the Maternal Behavior Rating
Scales (MBRS) (Mahoney & Powell, 1987) were administered. A semi-structured
interview with a parent (n=10) was conducted two years later to describe changes in
attachment. These qualitative findings were displayed as case studies. The main findings
of the study were very positive for adoptive families. The most positive findings were
that child attachment increased from insecure to secure during the course of the study.
The level of family functioning was very high as the adoptive families enter this critical
transition period of family formation.
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