Adopted Children's Social Competence: The Interplay Between Past and Present Influences

• Author: Joana Soares,Maria Barbosa‐Ducharne,Sílvia Fonseca,Marta Moreira,Jesús Palacios,Orlanda Cruz
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12391

J S  M B-D University of Porto

J P University of Seville

M M, S F ,  O C University of Porto

Adopted Children’s Social Competence: The

Interplay Between Past and Present Inuences

Objective: To explore potential postadoption

moderators of the link between preadoption

experiences and adoptees’ social competence.

Background: In the context of the limited

and inconsistent knowledge about adopted

children’s social competence, our hypotheses

concern the interplay between preadoption

parental neglect and adoptive parents’ emotion

socialization practices.

Method: With adopters as informants, the

social competence of 97 Portuguese school-age

children was evaluated in terms of social skills

and competing problem behaviors, using the

Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scale.

Children’s preadoption experiences (using a

sociodemographic questionnaire) and parental

emotion socialization (evaluated by the Coping

with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale) were

also assessed.

Results: Time since adoption and unsupportive

adoptive parents’ responses moderated the rela-

tionship between preadoption parental neglect

and adoptees’ social skills. Unsupportive adop-

tive parents’ responses exacerbated the effects

Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Univer-

sity of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal

(abarbosa@fpce.up.pt).

Key Words: adopted children, emotion socialization,

parental neglect, problem behaviors, social competence,

social skills.

of preadoption neglect. This moderation was

stronger with longer postadoption time.

Conclusion: Added to preadoption parental

neglect, unsupportive adoptive parenting accen-

tuates the risks for adoptees’ social competence.

Implications: Adoptive parents should be

informed that socialization practices concern-

ing children’s negative emotions are associated

with adopted children’s social competence.

The socioemotional development of adoptees

is particularly interesting as a group due to

the contrast between adversity experienced

before the adoptive placement and positive

experiences in their adoptive families (Palacios

& Brodzinsky, 2010). Many studies have been

designed to analyze the negative effects of early

adversity on physical, cognitive, and behavioral

development, as well as the catch-up processes

triggered by the new family environment (e.g.,

van IJzendoorn & Juffer, 2006), but much less

is known about how pre- and postadoption

socioemotional experiences interact to shape

adoptees’ social functioning, particularly their

social competence. This study was designed to

examine the link between preadoption neglect

and adoptees’ social competence, by testing

the moderating role of both adoptive parents’

emotion socialization practices (supportive and

unsupportive parenting) and the length of the

adoptive parent–child relationship.

Family Relations 68 (December 2019): 565–579 565

DOI:10.1111/fare.12391