Poster #99 - Psychosocial adjustment of adopted children in Germany: The influence of preadoptive history and parent-related factors

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

In contrast to most other countries, research on adoptive families has been a rather neglected issue throughout the last decades in Germany. Previous international studies found that the majority of adopted children are well adjusted (Juffer & van IJzendoorn, 2005). Nevertheless, existing research recognizes that adopted children display more internalizing and externalizing behavior than non-adopted children (e.g., Bimmel et al., 2003; Juffer & van Ijzendoorn, 2005). Preadoptive adversities (e.g. prenatal risk factors, abuse, multiple placements, deprivation) are risk factors for the psychosocial development of adopted children (e.g. Juffer & van Ijzendoorn, 2007; Groza & Ryan, 2002). However, to date few studies have focused on the effects of contextual and family factors (e.g. Berry, 1992).
The current study focuses on how prenatal risk factors (drug/ alcohol exposure in-utero, mental health problems of birth mother, premature birth), preadoptive stressors (experience of maltreatment and neglect, several out-of-home placements) and parental stress regulation (perceived stress, perception of self-efficacy) as well as adoptive parents’ parenting affect adopted children’s psychosocial adjustment in both intercountry and domestic adoptions in Germany.
Adoptive families were contacted via adoption agencies in all regions of Germany as part of the nationwide survey of the “Research Center on Adoption” located at the German Youth Institute. 257 adoptive parents, who had adopted a child within the last two years, participated. 171 children are included in the following analyses (domestic: n=114; mean age=42 months; intercountry: n=57; mean age=64 months). The children´s emotional and behavioral problems were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Preadoptive stressors were assessed with the Barnett scales and placement conditions as well as information about prenatal conditions were reported by the adoptive parents. Three methods were used to obtain information on adoptive parents’ stress regulation: the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Fitzpatrick, 2004), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4, Cohen & Williamson, 1988) and a questionnaire to assess perceived self-efficacy developed by Hastings and Brown (2002). To assess adoptive parents’ positive parenting, the the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ; Frick, 1991) was used.
The results show that the majority of adopted children in Germany showed psychosocial adjustment appropriate to their age. 12.5% of the children scored in the clinical range of the overall score of the SDQ (domestic adoption: 10.7%, intercountry adoption: 16.1%). Multiple regression analyses revealed that both early adversity and parental factors significantly predict emotional and behavior problems. The analyses revealed that the most important predictors for emotional and behavior problems in adopted children were prenatal risk factors and the experience of maltreatment and neglect. Additionally, parents with children showing more emotional and behavior problems report more parenting stress than other parents.
This study comprises the largest survey of adopted families in Germany. It confirms the results of international studies on adoptive families and highlights the importance of prenatal conditions, preadoptive experiences as well as parenting stress for the well-being of their adopted children. These results point to the importance of interventions and support focusing the whole family system.

Authors

• Fabienne Hornfeck, German Youth Institute
  Presenting Author

• Ina Bovenschen, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sabine Heene, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Annabel Zwönitzer, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Janin Zimmermann, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Paul Bränzel, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Selina Kappler, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author

• Heinz Kindler, German Youth Institute
  Non-Presenting Author