Symptomatologie dépressive maternelle post-adoption : une étude rétrospective

Abstract

ObjectiveAs biological mothers during the postpartum period, women who adopt a child might suffer from depressive symptoms. Thus, women who enter in the adoption process experience sudden life changes with the arrival of the child which increase parental stress and the risk of developing depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence rate of depression in mothers who have recently adopted a child and to examine factors associated with this symptomatology. MethodsOne hundred and twenty-two participants aged 28 to 54 years (M=41.38, ET=5.78) were approached through Internet forums and 93 French departmental associations for family who adopt a child. Participants who met the inclusion criterion (i.e. having adopted a child over the past 36 months) were invited to participate to the study and to complete questionnaires on a database platform. All women who agreed to participate completed an anamnestic questionnaire focusing on personal data, adoption procedure, and child-related information. Perceived social support from family and friends and child difficulties were also assessed using five-point scales. Then, all women completed four questionnaires assessing perceived stress during adoption (Perceived Stress Scale), depressive symptomatology (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), perception of quality of marital relationship (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index Short Form). Given the adoption process and the six months following child arrival, all measures were completed retrospectively. ResultsSeventeen percent of the sample scored above the cutoff for probable depression, this rate is similar to that which can be observed in postpartum depression. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with a high rate of stress during the adoption process and after the arrival of the child, the difficulties of child's adaptation as well as the quality of conjugal adjustment. Multiple regression analysis showed that the intensity of perceived stress during the adoption process, scores on two subscales of the Parental Stress Index “difficulty of the child” and “parental distress” and difficulties of child's adaptation rated by the mother were significant predictors of the intensity of depressive symptoms post-adoption. ConclusionDespite the limits of a retrospective study, these results suggest the importance of implementing specific preventive interventions considering both the adoption process and the post-adoption period to prevent depressive symptoms from developing.