Parenting stress of adoptive mothers, mother–child conflict, and behavior problems during adolescence among international adoptees.

Abstract

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.

Comparing Childhood Characteristics of Adopted and Non-adopted Individuals Deceased by Suicide

“…The mean age of suicide is approximately 33, which underlines that suicide prevention strategies must be embedded from childhood. Of course, family relationships play a buffering role to protect family members against some risk factors, including the risk of suicide and we do not study here the quality of adoptive parents and their child (38).…”

Age Differences in the Mediating Effects of Parenting Stress on the Relationship Between Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease and Externalizing Problems in Children and Adolescents

“…35 Parental perceptions of child vulnerability caused by disease conditions and feelings of inability to manage their children's illness may also increase parenting stress. 36 The heightened parenting stress could subsequently affect offspring's externalizing problems either directly 37 or indirectly through parenting dysfunction, such as maternal insensitivity, 38 parent-child conflict, 39 and low quality of parent-child interactions. 40 In this study, however, increased levels of parenting stress were not directly caused by the increasing age of the child.…”

A four-year multi-wave prospective study on the role of parental reflective functioning and parenting stress in the development of socio-emotional problems in internationally adopted children

“…Other studies have demonstrated the maladaptive effects of parenting stress, as it is prospectively associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems in adopted children (Melançon et al, 2019;Smith et al, 2018). However, no study to date has examined the possible mediating role of parenting stress in the relation between PRF and child difficulties in adoptive families.…”

“…Consistent with these assumptions, research in adoptive families suggests the existence of bidirectional associations between child development and parenting stress. Several studies have indicated that parenting stress in adoptive parents is negatively associated with the socio-emotional development of adopted children (Melançon et al, 2019).…”