Poster #92 - Infertility and Parenting Daily Hassles

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Prior qualitative studies have identified infertility as a major reason couples decide to adopt a child (Goldberg et al., 2009; Thorn, 2010). However, knowledge about infertility and couples’ reasoning in deciding to adopt is limited, with many studies relying only on anecdotal accounts (Kupecky & Anderson, 1998). Further, little is known whether and how the experiences of parenthood differ by pre-adoption fertility status. Using data from a sample of adoptive parents who participated in domestic adoption in the U.S., this study aims to: (1) provide a systematic description of the role of infertility in couples’ decision to pursue adoption and their emotional challenges in coping with fertility issues, and (2) examine potential changes in parenthood experiences (i.e., perceived parenting daily hassles) among fertile and infertile adoptive parents over seven years post-adoption. We hypothesized that: 1) infertility would emerge as a common reason for pursuing adoption; 2) infertile adoptive parents would perceive less frequent and less intense parenting daily hassles than fertile adoptive parents, and 3) this difference would be most salient during infancy, then gradually dissipate as adoptees grow up.
Method. This study uses data from Cohort I adoptive parents (N = 333) in the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS; Leve et al., 2013). Data include parents’ responses when adopted children were at age 9 months, 18 months, 27 months, 4.5 years, 6 years, and 7 years. Measures included the Reasons for pursuing adoption and fertility status, administered at child age 9 months, and asks adoptive parents to discuss 1) whether fertility played a role in their decision to pursue adoption (1 = not at all; 4 = a lot); and 2) whether the couple had difficulty conceiving or carrying a baby to term (1 = yes; 0 = no). Adoptive parents also completed the Emotional challenges due to infertility, which inquired about whether participants reported fertility challenges and if so, how these issues affected their feelings and relationships on a 5-point scale. Lastly, adoptive parents completed the Parenting daily hassles scale (Crnic & Greenberg, 1988), with mothers and fathers independently responding on 20 items related to typical everyday events involving parenting tasks (e.g., preparing dinner, driving).
Results. The majority of adoptive parents (80.94% mothers and 80.45% fathers) reported that they decided to adopt because of difficulty in conceiving a child biologically. Among those, both adoptive mothers (59.52%) and fathers (40.75%) found infertility emotionally stressful. Bivariate correlations between fertility status and parenting daily hassles (Tables 1 & 2) show that adoptive mothers who experienced fertility-related challenges reported significantly less frequent (r = -.120, p < .05) and less intense (r = -.130, p < .05) parenting daily hassles at age 9 months (but not in later ages) compared to those who did not. No associations were statistically significant for adoptive fathers. Growth curve analysis will follow to examine the role of fertility in the trajectories of parenting daily hassles over time. These results emphasize the impact of infertility on perceived parenthood experiences. Implications behind this phenomenon will be discussed.

Authors

• Jing Wang, University of California, Riverside
  Presenting Author

• Misaki N Natsuaki, University of California, Riverside
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jenae Neiderhiser, The Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• David Reiss, Yale Child Study Center
  Non-Presenting Author

• Leslie D. Leve, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author