Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Department of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University.
Dev Psychol. 2017 Nov;53(11):2195-2204. doi: 10.1037/dev0000352.
Adopted persons face special challenges in the development of identity, as aspects of their histories may be unknown, making it difficult to construct a coherent narrative linking past, present, and future. Extensive literature on adjustment outcomes for adopted persons indicates an elevated risk for adjustment problems. In this study, a low-risk sample of adopted youth is involved to examine, longitudinally, connections between adoptive identity and adjustment. Participants included 145 adopted youth who participated in Waves 2 (W2: adolescence: mean age = 15.7) and 3 (W3: emerging adulthood: mean age = 25.0) of a longitudinal study with a nationwide sample. Children were placed with same-race adoptive families (over 95% White) as infants through domestic private adoption agencies in the U.S. Internalizing and externalizing behaviors were assessed by the Youth Self Report (W2) and the Adult Self Report (W3). Adoptive identity was assessed by ratings of 6 dimensions coded from interviews which, using cluster analysis, revealed 4 adoptive identity subgroups: unexamined, limited, unsettled, and integrated. Factorial ANCOVA examined mean differences in W3 internalizing problems across identity clusters while controlling for W2 internalizing. The main effect for adoptive identity cluster was significant: F(3, 840.72) = 3.724, p = .011. Adopted adolescents in the unsettled group had significantly higher levels of internalizing problems in emerging adulthood than persons in the unexamined and limited categories. A similar ANCOVA for W3 externalizing behavior was not significant. Identity profiles high in negative affect may be at particular risk of increased levels of internalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record
被收养者在身份认同的发展上面临特殊的挑战，因为他们的一些历史可能是未知的，这使得他们难以构建一个将过去、现在和未来联系起来的连贯叙述。大量关于被收养者适应结果的文献表明，他们调整适应的风险较高。在这项研究中，我们涉及了一个低风险的被收养青少年样本，以纵向研究的方式考察收养身份认同与适应之间的联系。参与者包括 145 名被收养的青少年，他们参加了一项全国性样本的纵向研究的第 2 波（W2：青春期：平均年龄=15.7）和第 3 波（W3：成年早期：平均年龄=25.0）。儿童在婴儿时期通过美国国内私人领养机构被安置在与他们同种族的领养家庭中（超过 95%为白人）。内部和外部行为通过青少年自我报告（W2）和成人自我报告（W3）进行评估。收养身份认同通过从访谈中编码的 6 个维度的评分来评估，使用聚类分析揭示了 4 个收养身份认同亚组：未检验、有限、未安定和整合。因子分析协方差检验了在控制 W2 内部问题的情况下，W3 内部问题在身份认同聚类中的平均差异。收养身份认同聚类的主效应显著：F(3, 840.72)=3.724，p=0.011。在成年早期，处于不稳定状态的被收养青少年的内化问题水平明显高于未检验和有限类别的青少年。对于 W3 外化行为的类似协方差分析并不显著。具有消极情感的身份认同特征可能面临内化问题水平增加的特殊风险。
