Variables infantiles de riesgo en el proceso de adaptación de niños/as de adopciones especiales
2001; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1174/021037001316949266
ISSN1578-4126
AutoresMilagros Fernández, María Jesús Fuentes Rebollo,
Tópico(s)Child and Adolescent Health
ResumoResumenResumenEn este trabajo se analiza el proceso de adaptación a las familias preadoptivas de un grupo de niños de adopciones especiales. Se consideran adopciones especiales porque en los sujetos se dan una o varias de las siguientes circunstancias: han sido acogidos con más de seis años, pertenecen a un grupo de hermanos o tienen una etnia diferente a la de los padres acogedores. Además de revisar las variables asociadas al proceso de adaptación mutua que refiere la literatura sobre el tema, en este estudio se analiza la influencia de las características de la adopción especial, la historia del niño, los problemas de conducta previos, etc. en el número, tipo y evolución de las dificultades observadas por los padres durante el acogimiento, así como en el grado de satisfacción de las familias en el momento del estudio. La colaboración con el Servicio de Atención al Niño de la provincia de Málaga facilitóel contacto con las veintinueve familias y treinta y nueve niños que participaronen la investigación. Para la recogida de datos se utilizaron dos cuestionarios (Modelo de Expediente Personal y Escala para Detección de Problemas Infantiles en los Procesos de Adaptación) y la Entrevista de Seguimento para Adopciones Especiales (Fernández et al., 2001). Los resultados fundamentales son: a) se encontró un descenso significativo de los problemas iniciales en todas las áreas del desarrollo infantil; b) las variables infantiles asociadas a esos cambios fueron el sexo, la presencia de problemas de conducta anteriores y la presencia de psicopatología en la madre biológica; c) la satisfacción actual de los acogedores se relacionó con el número de problemas sociales que los niños seguían manifestando.AbstractThe study analyses how a group of children in special adoptions adapt to their pre-adoptive families. The term special adoption is applied when one or more of the following circumstances are present: 1) the adoption takes place when the child is over 6 years of age; 2) the child has one or more siblings; and 3) their ethnic background differs from that of the adoptive parents. The study first reviews a number variables obtained from the relevant literature related to the parent-child mutual adaptation process. Second, it analyses the influence of certain child characteristics, such as, case history, previous behavioural problems, etc., on both the number and type of difficulties reported by the parents during the preadoption period and their degree of satisfaction at the time of the study. Contact with the 29 families and 39 children who participated in the research study was established through the Child Care Services in Malaga (Spain). The data collection involved: personal records, a scale to detect childhood problems, and a special adoption follow-up interview (Fernández et al., 2001). The study's main results are: a) initial problems in all areas of childhood development significantly improved; b) child variables related to the observed changes were: gender, previous behavioural problems, and psychopathology in the biological mother; and c) the parents' satisfaction was related to the degree of social problems the child exhibited.Extended SummaryAdoption is a legal measure to protect children when there is a move from one environmental context to another. To facilitate this transition, which are usually less predictable in so-called special adoptions, the law sets a period of pre-adoption to ensure successful adaptation and processes of change. The number and length of transition periods might vary depending on parental, child, and contextual variables; but its aim is to produce positive changes in the child.Most research analysing child adoption under the category of special adoption focuses on identifying those child characteristics that facilitate or hinder adaptation. Regarding the period prior to adoption, we know that the age at which a child is taken under institutional care is a risk variable because the older the child, the greater is his/her cognitive development, and ability to understand the situation in which she is in; furthermore, s/he has accumulated more experience. In this sense, differences have been found between the adaptation level of younger children (between five and eight years old) and older children (between nine and twelve years old), the difficulty being greater in the older age group. This greater risk appears to begin from the age of eight years onwards. In addition, gender seems to play a role in the adaptation, and girls have been found to have more difficulties adapting as they grow older than boys.Regarding life experiences, abuse especially affects the future integration of the child into the adoptive family because of the direct and indirect effects it has on the child's development; especially if the child has suffered physical and/or sexual abuse. The period the child spends in institutional centres is also a risk variable, in particular, the length of time and number of centres the child has lived in. There is also a greater risk of problems when the children have already lived through an unsuccessful pre adoption period, due to negative expectations generated both toward themselves and the future adoptive family.Being adopted with siblings is a risk factor dependent on: the size of the group, the age of siblings (results are better with groups between the ages of five and eight years), and the role of the older brother or sister regarding younger siblings. The ethnic group of the child is a risk factor only if the attitude and behaviour of the adopting family is inadequate, or if their understanding of ethnic difference and the child's previous experiences are inadequate or negative.Research work and social practice have suggested strategies that seem to facilitate the integration of children from special adoption groups into the new family. specifically, preparing the child before leaving the institutional centre, and gradual coexistence with the future adoptive family through an adjustment period.This study is part of a wider investigation seeking to describe and analyse the process of child adaptation to adoptive families in a group formed exclusively by children with special characteristics, i.e., being older than six years at the time of pre-adoption, being adopted with siblings, and/or belonging to an ethnic group different from that of the adoptive parents.In this article, we analyse the relationship between children's difficulties adapting to the new family and the changes they experience as well as a number of child variables. After two years in pre-adoption conditions, the results show a significant decrease of initial problems in all areas of development. Child variables associated with these changes are: sex, presence of previous behavioural problems, and psychopathology in the biological mother. In addition, the level of current satisfaction of the adoptive family was related to the number of social problems the children continued to manifest. Age at the time of pre-adoption, how long they lived with their biological family, and the length of time in institutional centres were relevant variables linked to the appearance of certain difficulties.Palabras clave: Adopciones especialesacogimiento preadoptivovariables infantilesproblemas de adaptaciónprocesos de cambioKeywords: Mother-child interactioncognitive-linguistic developmentpicturebookssocio-economic differencesdistancing strategies
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