| This study examined the attachment process between lesbian co-parents and their internationally adopted children, focusing on the hierarchy of the mother-child attachment bonds. Variables affecting these relationships (e.g., division of labor, time spent with child, parental legal status) were examined. The sample consisted of 15 lesbian couples with 1 adopted child of pre-school age (14 transracial adoptions; 5 countries represented). Findings from 30 individual qualitative interviews were triangulated with statistical analysis of demographic data and a self-report questionnaire that compared division of labor between the partners. All children developed attachments to both mothers, but 80% had an initial primary bond to one mother, despite shared parenting and division of labor between the partners. “Quality” of maternal caretaking was a salient contributing factor, and no significant relationship existed between primary parenting and parental legal status. Complex ethical dilemmas existed in the adoption process, and racial-ethnic differences compounded the family's diversity challenges. |
