Mental health problems of Dutch young adult domestic adoptees compared to non-adopted peers and international adoptees

Dekker, Marleen; Tieman, Wendy; Vinke, Anneke J.G.; Ende, Jan van der; Verhulst, Frank C.; Juffer, Femmie

doi:10.1177/0020872816651699

Cited by 31 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These data coincide with those obtained in other studies that suggest that, in the case of adopted children, an absence of stable caregivers/attachment figures prior to adoption generally thwarts their ability to respond sensitively and consistently in a way that is appropriate to their needs, and this impedes the formation of secure attachment (Ainsworth et al, 1978; Dozier and Rutter, 2008; Rutter et al, 2010). As for gender differences, our results coincide with those studies of Dutch adoptees (Dekker et al, 2017), which have found a higher incidence of mental health problems in male adoptees compared with their non-adopted peers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Attachment representations in international adolescent adoptees in Spain, over 8 to 17 years of placement

Ballús

Casas

Urrutia

et al. 2019

International Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adverse early experiences of adopted children tend to entail emotional deprivation, which may have impaired their attachment relationships. Using an adaptation of a projective test specifically devised to assess attachment in teenagers, the relational histories of 70 Spanish adolescent international adoptees were explored and compared to non-adopted peers. A significant association between insecure attachment and difficulties with internal representation of parental figures (birth and adoptive) appeared in young adoptees with adverse pre-placement care and late adoption. With knowledge of internal attachment’s working models, professionals can improve their understanding of the adopted adolescent and go beyond mere classification of attachment patterns.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Attachment representations in international adolescent adoptees in Spain, over 8 to 17 years of placement

Ballús

Casas

Urrutia

et al. 2019

International Social Work

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With respect to the family context, autonomy support was investigated, as parental behaviors related to providing support for youth’s autonomy may be particularly challenging for immigrants and adoptive families, despite the fact that this dimension of parenting was found to have a crucial positive impact on the offspring’ identity processes (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Our outcome variable, psychological well-being, was operationalized in terms of low depression, following a number of previous studies on immigrant and adopted youth (Behle & Pinquart, 2016; Dekker et al, 2016; Tan, 2016). The present research represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to examine all these variables together, and for both immigrant and adoptive groups.…”

Section: The Present Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Family Factors Related to Intercountry Adoptees and Immigrants’ Bicultural Identity Integration

Ferrari

Manzi

Benet‐Martínez

et al. 2019

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intercountry adoptees constitute a distinct acculturating group that differs from traditional immigrant groups. Yet, there is a lack of research examining the psychosocial processes related to the well-being of this group and how these differ from other immigrant groups. A study carried out in Italy based on a sample group of young immigrants (N = 168) and intercountry adoptees (N = 160) tests a model in which social (perceived discrimination) and family factors (parental autonomy support) predict psychological well-being. The model also examines whether these associations are mediated by Bicultural Identity Integration (BII), the degree to which the ethnic and national identities are experienced as blended and compatible. Results indicate that while discrimination undermines BII among immigrants, it does not among adoptees. Moreover, parental autonomy support improves BII for both immigrants and intercountry adoptees. The findings showed significant associations between BII and psychological well-being. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to possible interventions with immigrants and intercountry adoptees.

show abstract

“…abuse, neglect, instability) which may occur at crucial stages in development [2,3] and place them at a higher risk for enduring developmental problems [4]. Studies investigating the mental health of, primarily, US adoptees, demonstrate that adopted children are at a greater risk for emotional and behavioral problems than non-adopted children, and that there is an overrepresentation of adoptees in mental health settings [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early adversity predicts adoptees’ enduring emotional and behavioral problems in childhood

Paine

Fahey

Anthony

et al. 2020

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children adopted from the public care system are likely to experience a cluster of interrelated risk factors that may place them on a trajectory of mental health problems that persist across the life course. However, the specific effects of putative risk factors on children's mental health post-placement are not well understood. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal study of children placed for adoption between 2014 and 2015 (N = 96). Adoptive parents completed questionnaires at approximately 5, 21, 36, and 48 months post-placement. We used time series analysis to examine the impact of pre-adoptive risk factors [adverse childhood experiences [ACEs], number of moves, days with birth parents and in care] on children's internalizing and externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior over 4 years post-placement. Adoptees' internalizing and externalizing problems remained consistently high over the 4-year study period, but more ACEs predicted increases in internalizing and externalizing problems. Contrary to expectations, more pre-placement moves and time in care predicted fewer problems over time, but exploratory analyses of interactive effects revealed this was only the case in rare circumstances. We identify pre-and post-removal factors that may incur benefits or have a deleterious impact on adoptees' outcomes in post-adoptive family life. Our findings provide knowledge for front-line professionals in the support of adoptive families and underscore the vital need for effective early intervention.

show abstract

Mental health problems of Dutch young adult domestic adoptees compared to non-adopted peers and international adoptees

Cited by 31 publications

References 40 publications

Attachment representations in international adolescent adoptees in Spain, over 8 to 17 years of placement

Attachment representations in international adolescent adoptees in Spain, over 8 to 17 years of placement

Social and Family Factors Related to Intercountry Adoptees and Immigrants’ Bicultural Identity Integration

Early adversity predicts adoptees’ enduring emotional and behavioral problems in childhood

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About