International adoptees show more behavior problems than their nonadopted peers do during childhood and adolescence. Although conditions of deprivation experienced prior to adoption have been found to have a long-lasting impact on child psychosocial adjustment, the influence of adoptive families tends to increase over age. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of parenting stress and parent–child conflict on international adoptees’ behavior problems in adolescence. Our sample consisted of 60 adolescents adopted during infancy and their mothers. Adolescents’ behavior problems were assessed using the Dominic Interactive Adolescent, a self-report measure, and the Child Behavior Checklist, completed by mothers. Parenting stress was assessed using the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents. Adolescents and their mothers were also observed during a discussion to evaluate parent–child conflict. Structural equation modeling revealed that parent–child conflict mediated the association between parenting stress and externalizing symptoms.
Les enfants adoptés à l’étranger présentent davantage de troubles de comportement que leurs pairs non-adoptés. Afin d’examiner les effets de leurs milieux de vie avant et après l’adoption sur l’adaptation psychologique de 57 adolescentes et 12 adolescents ( M= 15,02 ans), nous avons évalué leur état de santé au moment de l’adoption, le stress parental de leurs mères adoptives, la qualité de la relation mère-enfant et les troubles de comportement et l’estime de soi à l’adolescence. Bien que l’état des enfants à l’arrivée prédise leur bien-être psychologique à l’adolescence, l’influence des variables liées à leur famille adoptive apparaît prédominante.
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