Parent–child relationship and adoptees’ psychological well-being in adolescence and emerging adulthood: Disentangling maternal and paternal contribution

Abstract

This study focused on the parent–child relationship and children’s psychological well-being in families with internationally adopted adolescents and emerging adults. The study’s goal was twofold: (1) to analyze parent–child conflict, communicative openness in regard to adoption, and promotion of children’s volitional functioning as key aspects of parent–child relationship; and (2) to measure the relative importance of each of the above-mentioned parent–child relationship aspects in predicting adoptees’ psychological well-being. In the analyses, parent and child genders and child developmental stage (adolescence vs. emerging adulthood) were taken into account. Participants were 160 Italian international adoptees, aged between 15 and 24 years, who were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. Results showed significant differences in the level of the quality of parent–child relationship according to parents’ gender, child’s gender and developmental stage. Additionally, mother–child relationship and father–child relationship predicted adopted children’s well-being differently, also according to child’s gender and developmental stage.

Keywords:

• adoption
• parent–child relationship
• psychological well-being
• adolescence
• emerging adulthood

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the adoption agencies and the professionals who collaborated with this research project and all the families who took part in the research.

Notes

1. Participants were divided into two groups, according to their age and their school grade: adolescents from 15 to 18 years (N = 80, 50%) and emerging adults from 19 to 24 years (N = 80, 50%).

2. These percentages, with the prevalence of adoptees born in Latin America, were in line with the general profile of the population of international adoptees in Italy (see www.commissioneadozioni.it).

3. Adolescents and emerging adults were not different as far as their gender was concerned, χ² = .401, p = .527.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Italian Central Authority for International Adoptions.