Attachment and the loss of fertility: the attachment strategies of prospective adoptive parents

TY - JOUR

T1 - Attachment and the loss of fertility:

T2 - the attachment strategies of prospective adoptive parents

AU - Farnfield, Stephen

PY - 2019/6/6

Y1 - 2019/6/6

N2 - Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to determine the attachment strategies of prospectiveadoptive parents and any correlation between attachment and the defensive strategies they used whentalking about loss of fertility. The study also examined whether attachment strategy of the applicants had abearing on the decision by the local authority to place a child.Design/methodology/approach – The sample was comprised of 48 respondents (21 couples) representing84 per cent of all people who applied to one UK Social Services Department in a 12-month period. Placementof a child was reviewed two years following the assessment. The study used the dynamic maturational modelversion of the adult attachment interview (DMM-AAI), together with added questions on loss of fertility to assessthe applicants’ attachment strategies together with unresolved loss and trauma and the DMM modifiers.Findings – Unlike adoption studies using the Main and Goldwyn system, this study rated very few of theapplicants’ AAIs as secure (13 per cent), 48 per cent were in the normative low-risk range and 52 per cent ofthe AAIs were coded in the more complex DMM insecure strategies. There was a significant bias towardsmarriages where the partners deployed opposite low-risk/DMM strategies (13 (62 per cent) of couples).Compared with data on non-clinical populations the AAIs showed a high level of unresolved loss or trauma(58 per cent). Using a six-way distribution (A1-2, C1-2, B, A3-4, C3-6 and A/C) there was an 87 per centcorrespondence between discourse about loss of fertility and that about attachment, thereby supporting theestablished proposition that reproduction is part of the attachment system. Twenty one per cent of the AAIswere coded as “disorientated” and this is discussed in terms of conflict for adoptive of parents concerning theraising of a child who carries their own genes or those of strangers. A case is made to conceptualise negativeimpact of infertility in terms of unresolved trauma rather than loss.Research - limitations/implications – This study adds to research showing that the DMMapproach is morefinely calibrated than the ABC+disorganised model with the latter likely over coding for security. The resultsemphasise that fertility and reproduction are legitimate subjects for attachment studies and that AAI discourseanalysis is a valid methodology for future research. However coder agreement as to whether or not loss offertility was resolved was only fair (64 per cent) κ. 0.25 (po0.33). More work is required in order to determinewhat constitutes unresolved loss of fertility and what impact, if any, this has on parenting an adopted child.Practical implications – The practice implications are considered in a separate paper.Social implications – The findings are contentious in that they suggest a significant number(48 per cent) of adoptive parents have needs not dissimilar to other clients of psychological services.Originality/value – This is the first DMM-AAI study with prospective adoptive parents and the findings showsignificant differences when compared with previous studies using theMain and Goldwyn AAI. It is also the firststudy to establish fertility as a legitimate area for attachment studies by using AAI discourse analysis.Keywords Attachment, Assessment, Adoption, Infertility, Adult attachment interview,Dynamic maturational modelPaper type Research paperIntroductionAdoption in the UK is an integral if numerically small part of the child welfare system. Over the lastfew decades the profile of adopted children has changed from that of infants relinquished by theirbirth parents to older children

AB - Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to determine the attachment strategies of prospectiveadoptive parents and any correlation between attachment and the defensive strategies they used whentalking about loss of fertility. The study also examined whether attachment strategy of the applicants had abearing on the decision by the local authority to place a child.Design/methodology/approach – The sample was comprised of 48 respondents (21 couples) representing84 per cent of all people who applied to one UK Social Services Department in a 12-month period. Placementof a child was reviewed two years following the assessment. The study used the dynamic maturational modelversion of the adult attachment interview (DMM-AAI), together with added questions on loss of fertility to assessthe applicants’ attachment strategies together with unresolved loss and trauma and the DMM modifiers.Findings – Unlike adoption studies using the Main and Goldwyn system, this study rated very few of theapplicants’ AAIs as secure (13 per cent), 48 per cent were in the normative low-risk range and 52 per cent ofthe AAIs were coded in the more complex DMM insecure strategies. There was a significant bias towardsmarriages where the partners deployed opposite low-risk/DMM strategies (13 (62 per cent) of couples).Compared with data on non-clinical populations the AAIs showed a high level of unresolved loss or trauma(58 per cent). Using a six-way distribution (A1-2, C1-2, B, A3-4, C3-6 and A/C) there was an 87 per centcorrespondence between discourse about loss of fertility and that about attachment, thereby supporting theestablished proposition that reproduction is part of the attachment system. Twenty one per cent of the AAIswere coded as “disorientated” and this is discussed in terms of conflict for adoptive of parents concerning theraising of a child who carries their own genes or those of strangers. A case is made to conceptualise negativeimpact of infertility in terms of unresolved trauma rather than loss.Research - limitations/implications – This study adds to research showing that the DMMapproach is morefinely calibrated than the ABC+disorganised model with the latter likely over coding for security. The resultsemphasise that fertility and reproduction are legitimate subjects for attachment studies and that AAI discourseanalysis is a valid methodology for future research. However coder agreement as to whether or not loss offertility was resolved was only fair (64 per cent) κ. 0.25 (po0.33). More work is required in order to determinewhat constitutes unresolved loss of fertility and what impact, if any, this has on parenting an adopted child.Practical implications – The practice implications are considered in a separate paper.Social implications – The findings are contentious in that they suggest a significant number(48 per cent) of adoptive parents have needs not dissimilar to other clients of psychological services.Originality/value – This is the first DMM-AAI study with prospective adoptive parents and the findings showsignificant differences when compared with previous studies using theMain and Goldwyn AAI. It is also the firststudy to establish fertility as a legitimate area for attachment studies by using AAI discourse analysis.Keywords Attachment, Assessment, Adoption, Infertility, Adult attachment interview,Dynamic maturational modelPaper type Research paperIntroductionAdoption in the UK is an integral if numerically small part of the child welfare system. Over the lastfew decades the profile of adopted children has changed from that of infants relinquished by theirbirth parents to older children

KW - Attachment, Assessment, Adoption, Infertility, Adult attachment interview, Dynamic maturational model

U2 - 10.1108/JCS-11-2017-0049

DO - 10.1108/JCS-11-2017-0049

M3 - Article

SN - 1746-6660

VL - 14

SP - 78

EP - 96

JO - Journal of Children's Services

JF - Journal of Children's Services

IS - 2

M1 - 1

ER -