Adoption and trauma: Risks, recovery, and the lived experience of adoption.

Background: Although a very heterogeneous group, adopted persons may present developmental and mental health problems of varying severity. Pre-placement adversity and trauma have often been linked to these problems. It has been also suggested that adoption itself is a psychological trauma, predisposing the individual to emotional difficulties.

Factors associated with behavioral adjustment among school-age children of gay and heterosexual single fathers through surrogacy.

Thirty-one children of gay single fathers and 28 children of heterosexual single fathers, all born through surrogacy, were compared with 31 children of gay partnered fathers through surrogacy and 30 children of heterosexual partnered fathers through in-vitro fertilization on their perceptions of self-worth and their father- and caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For children of single fathers, the study also examined associations between aspects related to their surrogacy conception, feelings about their family arrangement, and behavioral adjustment. All children (47.

Children adopted by same-sex couples: Identity-related issues from preschool years to late adolescence.

Little research has investigated the experience of same-sex adoption from children's perspective. What does it feel like to be adopted by 2 dads or 2 moms? How do the challenges related to being adopted and the challenges related to growing up in a same-sex-parent family overlap in the identity construction of adoptees? This is the 1st European study giving voice to children adopted by same-sex couples focusing on their adoptive and family-related identities at four developmental stages: early childhood, middle childhood, preadolescence, and adolescence. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 44 adoptees (36 males and 8 females; ages 3-18 years) and 62 adoptive parents (16 lesbian women and 46 gay men).

School responsiveness to adoption among lesbian mothers.

A sample of adoptive parents, including an oversampling of lesbian mothers ( = 125), was surveyed regarding their family's school experiences related to adoption, satisfaction with how the school handled adoption-related issues, and their child's experiences with teasing at school. Linear and logistic regression analyses showed that lesbian mothers were more likely than heterosexual parents and gay fathers to disclose their child's adoption status in the school record and to ensure that the school was aware of the child's adoption. Lesbian mothers were also more likely than heterosexual parents and gay fathers to report talking to teachers about adoption issues.

Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents' Attitudes Towards Racial Socialization Practices.

We tested the validity and measurement invariance of the Transracial Adoptive Parenting scale (TAPS) across sexual orientation with a nationwide sample of adoptive parents. Our study sample consisted of 737 heterosexual, 102 lesbian, and 64 gay adoptive parents from the Modern Adoptive Families (MAF) study, a cross-sectional survey. We conducted reliability analyses, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for the 29-item TAPs.

Influence of Communicative Openness on the Psychological Adjustment of Internationally Adopted Adolescents.

This study evaluated the predictive relationship between the communicative openness and psychological adjustment of adopted adolescents, controlling for preplacement risk factors. One hundred Spanish international adoptees aged 12-18 took part in the study. Data were gathered with a structured interview, the Youth Self Report and the Adoption Communication Scale.

Coping with birthparent loss in adopted children.

Background: Relationships among adopted children's appraisals of birthparent loss, their coping strategies for managing such loss, and child and parent reports of child adjustment were investigated within the context of a stress and coping model of adoption adjustment.

Methods: Eighty-two 8-12-year-old adopted children and one of their parents participated. Children completed questionnaires assessing their negative affect about birthparent loss, their curiosity about birthparents, their use of coping strategies to manage birthparent-related distress, and their levels of depression, anxiety, and global self-worth.