Adoptive Parents Make for Better Parents, Study Finds
Brian Powell, Ph.D., a sociologist, and a team at Indiana University, examined data from 13,000 households with first graders in the family and found that the 161 families, headed by two adoptive parents, were more likely to help with homework, be involved in their kids' schools, and take their families to cultural events and religious services.
The researchers found that the advantages adoptive parents brought were most marked when compared to step or single parent families.
There was one area in which adoptive parents fared worse than other parents, however. They reported speaking less often to parents of other children. I wonder if this is because adoptive parents still feel less support (and understanding) from biological parents because they are non-traditional families.
When I adopted my daughter five plus years ago, I already was a biological parent; what I found striking about becoming an adoptive parent was how backward much of the public discourse was about adoption. I'd sometimes encounter parents in my kids' schools who would say such ignorant, thoughtless things about my daughter or adoption. I'd read articles about adoption that seemed clueless. (This was one of the reasons why my friend, Jill Smolowe, and I put together our book, A Love Like No Other.)
The authors of this study conjectured that one reason why adoptive parents fare better as parents may be because they tend to be older and wealthier and really wanted to be parents. Of course, that describes most parents I know these days--including those with bio kids. So I'm not sure I'd conclude from this study that adoptive parents necessarily make for better parents--just that they can be good ones, too.
Stumble It!
posted by pam at 2:16 PM
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