Adoption disruption, stability, success, and attachment security of adoptive parents

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that contribute to adoption success and adoption disruption based on parental attachment security. This study, a quantitative cross sectional survey approach, investigated the relationship between adoptive parents' attachment security, and their decision to promote adoption stability and success or to seek adoption disruption.

A three phased recruitment process was used to recruit 62 participants in North Central Texas and Washington State: Phase I (Agency Recruitment), Phase II (Participants within Agencies), and Phase III (Snowball Effect). Data were collected from the participants' responses to the Adoptive Parent Demographic Data Sheet (see Appendix C), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000; see Appendix D), and The Brief FAM III (Skinner, Santa-Barbara, & Steinhauer, 1983; see Appendix E) as instruments. Data were analyzed using statistical t-tests, Pearson correlations and Chi-Square Tests within the Statistical Packages for Social Studies (SPSS) computer software program. Open ended data, from the participants' responses to seven open ended questions placed at the end of the Adoptive Parent Demographic Data Sheet, were analyzed for additional information on the variables and categorized into themes.