121
Views
15
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Problem Behavior of Internationally Adopted Adolescents: A Review and Meta-Analysis

, , &
Pages 64-77 | Published online: 03 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

In this paper we examine the prevalence of problem behaviors in samples of adolescents who were adopted from a foreign country as infants or young children. We reviewed ten studies and performed a meta-analysis, comparing 2317 internationally adopted adolescents with 14,345 nonadopted adolescents. Results indicate that internationally adopted adolescents exhibit more behavior problems than do nonadopted adolescents ( d = 0.08; p = 0.02), with the difference seen in externalizing ( d = 0.11; p = 0.00), but not in internalizing ( d = 0.05; p = 0.12), behavior problems. Significantly more total behavior problems were seen in adopted than in nonadopted girls ( d = 0.10; p = 0.03), but not in adopted boys compared to nonadopted ones ( d = 0.07; p = 0.22). All differences, however, were small. The differences between adopted and nonadopted adolescents were somewhat larger when we considered behavior problems in the clinical range. The majority of the adopted adolescents are well adjusted and do not display significantly more problem behaviors than do their nonadopted peers.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.