“Triplets of Different Ages”: the experience of motherhood through the adoption of siblings

Abstract

The experience of motherhood by adopting a group of biological siblings can be a challenge during the post-adoption, but the literature on the subject is scarce. The objective of the present study was to understand how to build a mother-child relationship in a case of adoption of a group of siblings during ten psychotherapy sessions with a psychoanalytic and attachment-based theoretical framework. Thematic Analysis was used in psychotherapy transcriptions to look for the effects of mother-three child adaptations and to identify patterns of themes and subthemes. The results highlighted a period of idealization of the youngest children, sustained by difficulties with the older child. These difficulties were overcome when the mother saw younger children as more accurate and identified herself with the older one. It took a period of intense maternal emotional availability for the individualized needs of her three children as if they were triplets of different ages. The results emphasized the importance of pre-adoption preparation for the family to adopt siblings. Also, it is essential to pay special attention to the child who played a parental role before the adoption.