Smith Daniel W, Brodzinsky David M
National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2002 Feb;43(2):213-23. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00014.
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.
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. Parents reported on children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and social competence.
Children who reported higher levels of negative affect about birthparent loss also reported higher levels of depression and lower self-worth. Curiosity about birthparents predicted parent-rated externalizing behavior. Behavioral avoidant coping was associated with greater self-reported anxiety and parent-rated externalizing behavior, whereas problem solving coping was associated with increased parent-rated social competence.
The findings, though limited by issues of measurement and sampling, add to the knowledge base regarding adopted children's appraisal and coping behaviors, and provide partial support for a stress and coping model of adopted children's adjustment.
在收养适应的压力与应对模型背景下，研究了被收养儿童对与生身父母分离的评价、他们处理这种分离的应对策略，以及儿童和父母对儿童适应情况的报告。
82名8至12岁的被收养儿童及其父母一方参与了研究。儿童完成了问卷调查，评估他们对与生身父母分离的负面影响、对生身父母的好奇心、他们使用应对策略来处理与生身父母相关困扰的情况，以及他们的抑郁、焦虑和总体自我价值水平。父母报告了孩子的外化和内化行为问题以及社交能力。
报告对与生身父母分离有较高负面影响水平的儿童，也报告了较高的抑郁水平和较低的自我价值。对生身父母的好奇心预测了父母评定的外化行为。行为回避应对与更多的自我报告焦虑和父母评定的外化行为相关，而解决问题应对与父母评定的社交能力提高相关。
尽管研究结果受到测量和抽样问题的限制，但增加了有关被收养儿童评价和应对行为的知识库，并为被收养儿童适应的压力与应对模型提供了部分支持。
