Adoption adjustment in Black adoptive families

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Nerissa Inez LeBlanc Gillum (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: "The purpose of this study was to examine Black adoptive families' characteristics and the relations between child risk, social cognitions, and adoption outcomes. Participants were 73 Black adoptive mothers and 66 of their adopted children. Mothers' average age was 48 years. Approximately 36% had earned at least a bachelor's degree, 75% were employed, and 51% were not living with a spouse or partner. Children averaged 9.5 years old; 55% were female. Their average age was 1.7 years at first foster care placement, 3.7 years when first placed in adoptive mothers' home, and 5.9 years at adoption. They experienced an average of 2.9 foster care moves. Many of the children experienced abuse (47%) and neglect (85%). Mothers reported that about 62% of the children currently had attention deficits, 57% had behavior problems, 49% had learning problems, and 30% had developmental delays. Of particular interest in this study was the relation between child risk, mother and child social cognitions, and mother and child perceptions of adoption outcomes. Mothers of children with less risk characteristics, those who believed that adoptive families were more similar to non-adoptive families, and those who had lower levels of conflict-promoting attributions for their children's misbehaviors reported higher satisfaction with the adoption and greater warmth in their parent-child relationships. Also, mothers who had higher levels of parental self-efficacy had a more warm relationship with their child. Parental self-efficacy also moderated the relation between child risk and mothers' adoption satisfaction. Parental self-efficacy appeared to be important for those mothers who had children with more risk characteristics. Mothers with higher levels of parental self-efficacy were more satisfied with the adoption than mothers who had lower levels of parental self-efficacy. Child risk was not associated with child-reported adoption outcomes. Children with higher levels of self-esteem and those who reported receiving higher levels of support from their adoptive family were more satisfied with their adoption placement "--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Black families, adoption, child risk, social cognitions, outcomes
Subjects
Adoption--United States
African American families

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