Preliminary Efficacy of AdoptMindful2Care: A Mindful Parenting Post-adoption Intervention for Adoptive Parents

Summary

Adoptive parents often face additional challenges related to the adoption process, which can increase their vulnerability to parenting stress and negatively affect their parenting practices and overall family well-being. These risks highlight the urgent need to implement post-adoption interventions that reduce parenting stress and promote both parental well-being and positive parenting practices.

In this study, the research team aims to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of AdoptMindful2Care, a new 8-week, face-to-face, group-based psychological intervention grounded in the principles of mindful parenting. This pilot randomized controlled trial, which uses a two-arm design, serves as a preliminary step before conducting the full-scale RCT planned for AdoptMindful2Care.

The investigators will invite both mothers and fathers to participate if they have at least one adoptive child between the ages of 2 and 17 and if the legal adoption decree was finalized in court at least 12 months before enrollment. The investigators will target parents who report moderate to high levels of parenting stress. With the support of all Portuguese governmental adoption agencies, the researchers plan to recruit a minimum of 78 families.

After parents express interest in participating, the investigators will screen them to assess their levels of parenting stress. For those who meet the initial criteria, the investigators will conduct a structured clinical interview (SCID-5-CV) to rule out severe mental illness. If participants meet all inclusion criteria and present no exclusion criteria, the investigators will proceed with a final interview to guide them through the informed consent process.

The investigators will randomly assign eligible participants to either the intervention group (AdoptMindful2Care) or a waitlist control group (who will receive the intervention after the study concludes). All participants will be informed that they will be randomized to one of the study groups and that they will only be included if they give informed consent to participate in the study. The investigators will deliver the intervention in person, in a group format, through eight weekly sessions and one follow-up session, each lasting approximately 90 minutes.

All participants will complete assessments at three time points: baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up. These assessments will include self-report measures (e.g., parenting stress) and hetero-report measures (e.g., children's emotional and developmental difficulties).

Conditions

• Parenting Stress

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

AdoptMindful2Care

AdoptMindful2Care is a mindful parenting post-adoption intervention with eight weekly group sessions (approximately 90 minutes each), delivered in person by trained psychologists, plus one follow-up session held two months after completion. The intervention integrates psychoeducation, mindfulness-based exercises, mindful parenting and self-compassion practices, as well as strategies informed by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The program is designed to help adoptive parents reduce parenting stress and promote positive parenting practices.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Coimbra

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-06-30

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2027-02-28

Countries

• Portugal

Study Locations