Adoption of a Child: First-time Parents' versus Non-first-time Parents' Feelings about Parenting
Open Access
Author:
Knapp, Kimberlee Rae
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Jenae Marie Neiderhiser, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Jenae Marie Neiderhiser, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Richard Alan Carlson, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
adoption self-efficacy parenting daily hassles
Abstract:
Previous research suggests that a biological tie is not necessary for effective parenting and that positive parent feelings about parenting vary among mothers and fathers. This research drew on that literature to inform current hypotheses about how parent efficacy and parents’ report of parenting daily hassles vary in three different adoptive parenting groups: first-time parents, non-first time parents with at least one biological child, and non-first-time parents with at least one adopted child. It was predicted that non-first-time parents with at least one adopted child would display the greatest parenting efficacy and first-time adoptive parents would display the least. First-time parents were hypothesized to report the least hassle and non-first-time parents with at least one adopted child were predicted to report the most. The study found no significant difference in parenting efficacy among the three parent groups. First-time parents reported feeling the least hassled while non-first-time parents with at least one adopted child reported feeling the most. Differences in report of parenting daily hassle were minimal among the two non-first-time parent groups.
