TY - JOUR
T1 - Adoption status and family relationships during the transition to young adulthood
AU - Walkner, Amy J.
AU - Rueter, Martha A
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 American Psychological Association.
PY - 2014/12/1
Y1 - 2014/12/1
N2 - Although adoptive family research has increased, most has focused on childhood and adolescence. Despite the known importance of parent-adolescent relationships drawn from the general population, we know little about how adoptive family relationships change or remain the same as adopted adolescents enter young adulthood. Using the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study, the purpose of this study was to build on previous research to explore differences in conflict, closeness, and relationship quality between adoptive and nonadoptive families during the transition from late adolescence into young adulthood. Self-report and independent observations were collected from children, mothers, and fathers at late adolescence (range: 14.50 -18.49 years) and young adulthood (range:18.50 -22.49 years), and analyzed using within-subjects repeated measures. Although adoptive family dyads had lower relationship indicators than nonadoptive family dyads, similar trends over time occurred for both family types. Using individuation theory, we suggest individuation occurs for both types of families, with adoptees facing unique additional challenges during this process, including integration of adoption status, adoption communicativeness, adoption information seeking, and relationship with birth parents as possible influences in this process.
AB - Although adoptive family research has increased, most has focused on childhood and adolescence. Despite the known importance of parent-adolescent relationships drawn from the general population, we know little about how adoptive family relationships change or remain the same as adopted adolescents enter young adulthood. Using the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study, the purpose of this study was to build on previous research to explore differences in conflict, closeness, and relationship quality between adoptive and nonadoptive families during the transition from late adolescence into young adulthood. Self-report and independent observations were collected from children, mothers, and fathers at late adolescence (range: 14.50 -18.49 years) and young adulthood (range:18.50 -22.49 years), and analyzed using within-subjects repeated measures. Although adoptive family dyads had lower relationship indicators than nonadoptive family dyads, similar trends over time occurred for both family types. Using individuation theory, we suggest individuation occurs for both types of families, with adoptees facing unique additional challenges during this process, including integration of adoption status, adoption communicativeness, adoption information seeking, and relationship with birth parents as possible influences in this process.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Adoption
KW - Family relationships
KW - Young adulthood
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U2 - 10.1037/fam0000020
DO - 10.1037/fam0000020
M3 - Article
C2 - 25221972
AN - SCOPUS:84925606098
SN - 0893-3200
VL - 28
SP - 877
EP - 886
JO - Journal of Family Psychology
JF - Journal of Family Psychology
IS - 6
ER -