Abstract

Adopted children enter families with parents who on average are older, have higher income, and have more education than other family structures. Because adopted children are moving into families with more resources, research suggests that they would do just as well as, and perhaps even better than, children in biological two-parent households. However, this is not always the case. Understanding how different variables could offset any negative results of adoption is a puzzle that researchers are continually exploring. Previous research has investigated differences in investments from adoptive and biological parents through multiple theoretical lenses. I seek to add to current research by looking at parental investments of warmth and aversive and non-aversive discipline. Using the ECLS-K:2011 dataset, I examine the responses of parents of kindergarteners to questions about warmth and discipline. I find that there are no significant differences in parental warmth or aversive disciplinary strategies. However, when looking at the non-aversive disciplinary strategies of using time-out, I find that adoptive parents use time-out more. Additionally, adoptive parents use chores as discipline much less than biological parents, which aligns with none of the proposed theories and suggests a need for further research on how chores are viewed in discipline literature.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Sociology

Rights

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