Abstract
Basic tenets of attachment theory were evaluated in a qualitative study of 15 lesbian couples with internationally adopted children, focusing on parental perceptions of a primary mother-child attachment within the families. Interviews with 30 mothers examined variables affecting the hierarchy of parenting bonds, including division of labor, time with the child, and parental legal status. All children developed attachments to both mothers, but 12 of the 15 had primary bonds to one mother despite shared parenting and division of labor between the partners. Quality of maternal caretaking was a salient contributing factor; no significant relationship existed between primary parenting and parental legal status.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1967). Infancy in Uganda: Infant care and the growth of love. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum.
Belsky, J., Rosenberger, K., & Crnic, K. (1995). The origins of attachment security: “Classical” and contextual determinants. In S. Goldberg, R. Muir, & J. Keu (Eds.), Attachment theory: Social, developmental, and clinical perspectives (pp. 153–183). London: The Analytic Press.
Benkov, L. (1995). Lesbian and gay parents: From margin to center. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 7(1/2), 49–64.
Bennett, S. (2001). Two mothers and their child: A multimethod study of parenting bonds and division of labor within lesbian adoptive families. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
Bowlby, J. (1969).Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation. New York: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and loss: Vol. 3. Loss: Sadness and depression. New York: Basic Books.
Brinich, P. (1990). Adoption from the inside out: A psychoanalytic perspective. In D. Brodzinsky & M. Schechter (Eds.), The psychology of adoption (pp. 42–61). New York: Oxford University Press.
Brodzinsky, D. (1995). Parenting adopted children. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 3, pp. 209–232). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cassidy, J. (1999). The nature of the child's ties. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 3–20). New York: Guilford.
Chan, R., Brooks, R., Raboy, B., & Patterson, C. (1998). Division of labor among lesbian and heterosexual parents: Associations with children's adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology 12(3), 402–419.
Chisholm, K., Carter, M., Ames, E., & Morison, S. (1995). Attachment security and indiscriminately friendly behavior in children adopted from Romanian orphanages. Development and Psychopathology 7, 283–294.
Colin, V. L. (1996). Human attachment. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Connolly, C. (1996). An analysis of judicial opinions in same-sex visitation and adoption cases. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 14, 187–203.
Davies, J. (1995). Two moms and a baby: Protecting the nontraditional family through second parent adoptions. New England Law Review 29, 1055–1078.
Hartmann, A. (1996). Social policy as a contest for lesbian and gay families: The political is personal. In J. Laird (Ed.), Lesbians and gays in couples and families (pp. 69–85). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hartmann, A., & Laird, J. (1998). Moral and ethical issues in working with lesbians and gay men. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 236–276.
Howes, C. (1999). Attachment relationships in the context of multiple caregivers. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 671–687). New York: Guilford.
Jenista, J. (Ed.). (2000). Medical issues in international adoptions [Special issue]. Pediatric Annals 29(4).
Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. In I. Bretherton & E. Waters (Eds.), Growing Points of Attachment theory and research. Monographs of the society for research in Child Development 50(1–2), Serial No. 209, 66–104.
Mallon, G. (2000). Gay men and lesbians as adoptive parents. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services 11(4), 1–21.
Markowitz, L. (Ed.). (2000). Adoption: The new face of our families? [Special issue]. In the Family 5(4).
McCandlish, B. (1987). Against all odds: Lesbian mother family dynamics. In F. Bozett (Ed.), Gay and lesbian parents (pp. 23–38). New York: Praeger.
Padgett, D. (1998). Qualitative methods in social work research: Challenges and rewards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Patterson, C. (1992). Children of lesbian and gay parents. Child Development 63, 1025–1042.
QSR NUD.IST 4.0 [computer software]. (1997). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Reid, W. (1994). Reframing the epistemological debate. In E. Sherman & W. Reid (Eds.), Qualitative research in social work (pp. 464–481). New York: Columbia.
Robson, R. (1994). Third parties and the third sex: Child custody and lesbian legal theory. Connecticut Law Review 26, 1377–1414.
Shapiro, B., Shapiro, J., & Paret, I. (2001). Complex adoption & assisted reproductive technology: A developmental approach to clinical practice. New York: Guilford.
Shapiro, J. (1996). Custody and conduct: How the law fails lesbian and gay parents and their children. Indiana Law Review 71, 623–671.
Simon, R., & Alstein, H. (2000). Adoption across borders: Serving the children in transracial and intercountry adoptions. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Singer, L., Brodzinsky, D., Ramsay, D., Steir, M., & Waters, E. (1985). Mother-infant attachment in adoptive families. Child Development 56, 1543–1551.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Sullivan, M. (1996). Rozzie and Harriet? Gender and family patterns of lesbian coparents. Gender & Society 10(6), 747–767.
Tizard, B., & Rees, J. (1975). The effect of early institutional rearing on the behavior problems and affectional relationships of four-year-old children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 15, 51–77.
Van IJzendoorn, M. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the Adult Attachment Interview. Psychological Bulletin 117(3), 387–403.
Vonk, E., Simms, P., & Nackerud, L. (1999). Political and personal aspects of intercountry adoption of Chinese children in the United States. The Journal of Contemporary Human Services 80(5), 496–510.
Yarrow, L.J., Goodwin, M.S., Manheimer, H., & Milowe, I.D. (1973). Infancy experiences and cognitive and personality development at 10 years. In L.J. Stone, H.T. Smith, and L.B. Murphy (Eds.), The competent infant: Research and commentary (pp. 1277–1281). New York: Basic Books.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bennett, S. Is There a Primary Mom? Parental Perceptions of Attachment Bond Hierarchies Within Lesbian Adoptive Families. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 20, 159–173 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023653727818
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023653727818