Attachment to Parents and Aggressiveness in Adopted Adolescents: A Multi‐Sample Comparison Study

Abstract

This study examined adopted adolescents' levels of attachment security to parents and aggressiveness as compared to those of community nonadopted adolescents and of clinical nonadopted adolescents. Three different subsamples participated (n = 262): 101 community nonadopted adolescents (48.5% girls), 80 community adopted teens (65.0% girls), and 81 nonadopted counterparts (35.8% girls) who participated in a treatment program for youth with behavioral problems. There were no differences between community groups in attachment security or aggressiveness, whereas clinical nonadopted adolescents showed less attachment security and more aggressiveness than the other two groups. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the potential healing impact that living with adoptive families could have on adopted teenagers' risk of maladaptive outcomes.

Aggressiveness in Adopted and Non-Adopted Teens: The Role of Parenting, Attachment Security, and Gender

“…An additional new insight of our study regards the ecological validity of the present model. Previous findings have acknowledged the need of more studies examining in-depth the specific mechanisms that contribute to the promotion of the development of attachment security in adopted teens [ 57 , 88 ] and of the effect of attachment in aggressiveness [ 52 ]. In spite of adopted adolescents’ more difficult previous rearing experiences—e.g., loss, maltreatment, neglect [ 89 ]—the present study showed that the contribution of coercion/imposition and acceptance/involvement parenting practices to attachment security and aggressiveness was the same in these teens as in non-adopted counterparts.…”

“…It seems that these types of problems put them at a high risk of mental health troubles, especially externalizing-behavioral problems, in comparison to their non-adopted peers (for some reviews, see [ 50 , 51 ]). However, even though adverse experiences before adoption can make adopted adolescents more likely to develop aggression problems, only a few studies have focused on the aggressiveness domain in adopted teens specifically [ 52 ]. In any case, in spite of this increased risk, there is also relevant evidence demonstrating that many adoptees exhibited resilience [ 50 , 53 ].…”

“…Moreover, with the added aim of conducting the study from an inclusive perspective that allows testing the model simultaneously for different family realities, it was carried out in two samples of community adolescents: adopted adolescents and non-adopted adolescents. Taking into account previous results in which differences in aggressiveness have not been observed between adopted and non-adopted adolescents [ 52 ], it was expected that the model would hold for both adolescent groups. Based on the expected changes to the model for early adolescence, we tested the following hypotheses:…”

Attachment and alexithymia predict emotional–behavioural problems of institutionalized, late‐adopted and community adolescents: An explorative multi‐informant mixed‐method study

“…Questionnaire-based studies suggest no difference with COM peers in levels of attachment security (Altinoglu-dikmeer et al, 2014;Barroso et al, 2018;McSherry et al, 2016;Paull, 2013;Torres-Gomez et al, 2018), except in one case (Vantieghem et al, 2017).…”

“…LA adolescents receive mainly secure–autonomous classifications in most interview‐based studies (summarized in Table 1 of Muzi & Pace, 2021), but one study reports less secure classifications in them compared to COM peers (Peñarrubia et al, 2022), and they show more disorganization in another study (Pace et al, 2018). Questionnaire‐based studies suggest no difference with COM peers in levels of attachment security (Altinoglu‐dikmeer et al, 2014; Barroso et al, 2018; McSherry et al, 2016; Paull, 2013; Torres‐Gomez et al, 2018), except in one case (Vantieghem et al, 2017).…”