Exploring the association between adoptive parents' attachment orientations and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties: The role of parents' self-compassion and mindful parenting

IF 2.2 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2025-06-13 DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101816

Matilde Paulo Rato , Joana Serra , Beatriz Boavida Gonçalves , Maria Cristina Canavarro , Raquel Pires

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Although adoptive parenthood appears to positively contribute to adoptees' emotional and behavioral development, little research has been done on the mechanisms through which adoptive parents may impact the developmental pathways of their children. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between adoptive parents' attachment orientations and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties while examining the mediating role of adoptive parents' self-compassion and mindful parenting in this relationship, and to explore the extent to which the abovementioned associations differ from those observed in nonadoptive families. A sample of Portuguese adoptive parents (n = 400) and nonadoptive parents (n = 333) of children aged between 2 and 17 years old was collected through an online self-report survey. Serial mediation models showed that higher levels of adoptive parents' attachment-related avoidance or anxiety were associated with increased adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties. These relationships were found to be serially mediated by lower levels of self-compassion and mindful parenting. Moderated mediation analyses suggested that the association between parents' attachment anxiety and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties through self-compassion and mindful parenting was significantly stronger in adoptive families compared to nonadoptive families. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the role adoptive parents might have on adoptees' postplacement emotional and behavioral difficulties, highlighting the importance of their levels of self-compassion and mindful parenting. They add new information for planning postadoption therapeutic services aimed to foster a positive adoptive parent–child relationship and, thus, the wellbeing of families challenged by adoption circumstances.

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养父母依恋取向与被养人情感和行为困难的关系：父母自我同情和正念教养的作用

虽然养父母似乎对被收养人的情感和行为发展有积极的促进作用，但关于养父母影响孩子发展途径的机制研究很少。本研究旨在探讨养父母依恋取向与被养父母情感和行为困难之间的关系，同时考察养父母自我同情和正念教养在这一关系中的中介作用，并探讨上述关系与非收养家庭的差异程度。通过在线自我报告调查收集了2 - 17岁儿童的葡萄牙养父母（n = 400）和非养父母（n = 333）样本。序列中介模型表明，养父母依恋回避或焦虑水平的升高与被养人情感和行为困难的增加有关。研究发现，这些关系是由较低水平的自我同情和有意识的养育所介导的。有调节的中介分析表明，父母依恋焦虑与自我同情和正念养育对被收养子女情绪和行为困难的关联在收养家庭中显著强于非收养家庭。这些发现有助于更好地理解养父母可能对被收养者安置后的情感和行为困难所起的作用，强调了他们自我同情和用心养育的重要性。它们为规划收养后治疗服务增加了新的信息，这些服务旨在促进积极的收养亲子关系，从而促进受到收养情况挑战的家庭的福祉。

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来源期刊

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology focuses on two key concepts: human development, which refers to the psychological transformations and modifications that occur during the life cycle and influence an individual behavior within the social milieu; and application of knowledge, which is derived from investigating variables in the developmental process. Its contributions cover research that deals with traditional life span markets (age, social roles, biological status, environmental variables) and broadens the scopes of study to include variables that promote understanding of psychological processes and their onset and development within the life span. Most importantly.