Psychophysiological foundations of parenting for children without parental care

<p><strong>Context and relevance.</strong> The issue of selecting parents for adopted children remains an important aspect of social policy and child development psychology. Biological and social factors significantly influence the formation of maternal behavior. Among biological foundations are processes such as imprinting, attachment, hormonal changes during pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation, along with individual character traits and cognitive abilities of mothers. However, it is precisely the social conditions that allow a child to absorb the norms and values of a particular society. The aim of this study was to identify differences between biological mothers and two categories of substitute mothers — those who raise only adopted children and those who combine raising both their own and adopted children. <strong>Objective.</strong> To investigate the peculiarities of parental competency formation among different groups of mothers and determine the impact of biological and social factors on the effectiveness of fostering adopted children. <strong>Hypothesis.</strong> The effectiveness of parenting of adopted children is related to the presence of native children of substitute mothers and their biological and sociodemographic characteristics. <strong>Methods and materials.</strong> The research involved a sample of 109 mothers, including 52 substitute mothers and 57 biological mothers. There were significant age variations: substitute mothers had an average age of about 47 years compared to biological mothers at approximately 37 years old. Substitute mothers exhibited lower levels of education, more children, and higher rates of being unmarried. Participants underwent testing focused on working memory capacity, inhibition mechanisms, and temperament characteristics. <strong>Results.</strong> Analysis revealed that mothers raising birth children demonstrated greater working memory volume and better learning capabilities when compared to substitute mothers. The most pronounced deficit in sensory sensitivity was observed among mothers simultaneously raising both birth and adopted children, suggesting a heightened risk of emotional burnout within this group. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>These findings highlight the importance of considering individual motherly characteristics when selecting candidates for adoption and emphasize the need for support programs aimed at preventing professional burnout syndrome among couples engaged in combined parenting of birth and adopted children.</p>