Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Publication Title
Journal of Family Psychology
Abstract
Little work has examined relationship dissolution or divorce in adoptive parents or same-sex parent couples. The current study examined predictors of relationship dissolution across the first 5 years of parenthood among a sample of heterosexual, lesbian, and gay male adoptive couples. Of the 190 couples in the study, 15 (7.9%) dissolved their relationships during the first 5 years of adoptive parenthood. Specifically, 7 of 57 lesbian couples (12.3%), 1 of 49 gay male couples (2.0%), and 7 of 84 heterosexual couples (8.3%) dissolved their unions. Results of our logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of relationship dissolution were significantly higher for (a) couples who adopted a noninfant (i.e., older child); (b) participants who reported feeling less prepared for the adoption, 3 months postadoptive placement; and (c) couples in which both partners reported very low or very high preadoption levels of relationship maintenance behaviors. Findings have implications for adoption professionals seeking to support same-sex and heterosexual prospective adopters, as well as societal debates and policy regarding same-sex relationships and parenting.
Keywords
Adoption, Divorce, Gay, Lesbian, Relationship dissolution
Volume
29
Issue
3
First Page
394
Last Page
404
DOI
10.1037/fam0000095
ISSN
08933200
Rights
© The Authors
Recommended Citation
Goldberg, Abbie E. and Garcia, Randi L., "Predictors of Relationship Dissolution in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents" (2015). Psychology: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/psy_facpubs/65
Comments
Peer reviewed accepted manuscript.