The Longitudinal Course of Depression in Adoptive and Birth Mothers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Abstract This report extends by an additional 6 years the longitudinal research of Glidden and Schoolcraft, who found that adoptive mothers of children with intellectual disabilities displayed low depression at the initial time of adoption and thereafter, whereas birth mothers reported significantly higher levels when their children were first diagnosed, but not at later times. Depression remained low during the current time of measurement, but mothers who had relatively high depression earlier still reported higher depression even after 17 years. Individual differences were especially consistent for adoptive mothers during the latest 6‐year period, perhaps reflecting the endogenous nature of their depression.