Tout comme les mères biologiques, les femmes adoptives connaissent des changements de vie soudains à l’arrivée de l’enfant qui sont susceptibles d’augmenter le stress parental et le risque de développer des symptômes dépressifs. L’objectif principal de cette recherche était d’évaluer le taux dépression post-adoption chez des mères ayant adopté au cours des 36 derniers mois et d’examiner les facteurs qui y sont associés.

Cent vingt-deux mères adoptives ont été interrogées par le biais de forums Internet et d’associations pour les parents adoptifs. Toutes les femmes ont complété quatre questionnaires qui permettaient d’évaluer rétrospectivement le stress perçu durant la procédure d’adoption (Perceived Stress Scale), la dépression post-adoption (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), l’ajustement conjugal (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) et le stress parental (Parenting Stress Index).

Les symptômes de dépression post-adoption ont été retrouvés chez 17 % des mères. Ils étaient significativement associés à un taux de stress important durant la procédure d’adoption et à l’arrivée de l’enfant, à la difficulté d’adaptation de l’enfant ainsi qu’à la qualité d’ajustement conjugal. Une analyse de régression multiple a montré que l’intensité du stress perçu durant la procédure d’adoption, les scores à deux sous-échelles de stress parental et les difficultés de l’enfant à son arrivée prédisaient significativement l’intensité des symptômes dépressifs post-adoption.

Ces résultats suggèrent l’importance de mettre en place des actions de prévention spécifiques pour prévenir l’apparition de symptômes dépressifs qui peuvent suivre une adoption.

As biological mothers during the postpartum period, women who adopt a child might suffer from depressive symptoms. Thus, women who enter in the adoption process experience sudden life changes with the arrival of the child which increase parental stress and the risk of developing depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence rate of depression in mothers who have recently adopted a child and to examine factors associated with this symptomatology.

One hundred and twenty-two participants aged 28 to 54 years (M=41.38, ET=5.78) were approached through Internet forums and 93 French departmental associations for family who adopt a child. Participants who met the inclusion criterion (i.e. having adopted a child over the past 36 months) were invited to participate to the study and to complete questionnaires on a database platform. All women who agreed to participate completed an anamnestic questionnaire focusing on personal data, adoption procedure, and child-related information. Perceived social support from family and friends and child difficulties were also assessed using five-point scales. Then, all women completed four questionnaires assessing perceived stress during adoption (Perceived Stress Scale), depressive symptomatology (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), perception of quality of marital relationship (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index Short Form). Given the adoption process and the six months following child arrival, all measures were completed retrospectively.

Seventeen percent of the sample scored above the cutoff for probable depression, this rate is similar to that which can be observed in postpartum depression. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with a high rate of stress during the adoption process and after the arrival of the child, the difficulties of child's adaptation as well as the quality of conjugal adjustment. Multiple regression analysis showed that the intensity of perceived stress during the adoption process, scores on two subscales of the Parental Stress Index “difficulty of the child” and “parental distress” and difficulties of child's adaptation rated by the mother were significant predictors of the intensity of depressive symptoms post-adoption.

Despite the limits of a retrospective study, these results suggest the importance of implementing specific preventive interventions considering both the adoption process and the post-adoption period to prevent depressive symptoms from developing.