Post-adoption perinatal grief and parenting future children in the home: The moderating roles of social support and parental substance use.

Objective: The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the impact of birth mother's post-adoption perinatal grief - stemming from ambiguous loss - on their perceptions of their parenting years later and the relationship quality they have with the children who they raise; and (b) to evaluate the potential contribution that social support and substance use severity play in moderating the impact of post-adoption perinatal grief. Design: We applied an adoption design that consisted of a sample of birth mothers ( Results: Findings revealed that high post-adoption perinatal grief was associated with increased parent-child conflict. High post-adoption perinatal grief was also associated with low parenting satisfaction, albeit this effect was mitigated in the context of high social support. Conclusions: Findings suggest that grief following adoption may result in effects that are sustained years later, including compromised relationships and low parenting satisfaction with the child they later raise, although social support may mitigate the potential negative effects of post-adoption perinatal grief on parental satisfaction. Future work should examine the mechanisms linking post-adoption perinatal grief with future parenting.