Variables familiares que dificultan el acogimiento preadoptivo. Seguimiento y orientación familiar

Resumen

El acogimiento preadoptivo constituye una etapa durante la que el niño y la familia acogedora se implican en un proceso de adaptación mutua; determinados comportamientosy actitudes dificultan en ocasiones el éxito de este proceso creando conflictos y dificultades relationales en la dinámica familiar. Se ha analizado el proceso de adaptación durante el acogimientopreadoptivo de 21 niños del grupo de adopciones especiales acogidos por 18 familias de la provincia de Málaga. La información recogida durante dos años de seguimiento a cada familia permitió identificar los problemas presentados por los padres respecto a sus estilos educativos, a la adaptación de sus expectativasal comportamiento y evolución de los niños, a sus temores, a sus actitudesde aceptación o rechazo hacia el niño y a sus estilos de vida. En base a ello se establecieron orientaciones educativas para solventar tales dificultadesy poder contribuir al éxito y a la optimización delproceso de adaptación familiar.

Abstract

The pre-adoptive period is a stage in which the child and the adoptive family are involved in a mutual adaptation process. Certain behaviours and attitudes sometimes impede the success of this process, creating conflict and difficulties within the family dynamics. The adaptation process during the pre-adoption period has been analysed for 21 children, classified as special adoptions, placed in the care of 18 families from Malaga province. Information from each family collected over the two year follow-up allowed us to identify problems related to parent's approach to education, adapting their expectations to the child's behaviour and development, their fears, their acceptance or rejection of the child, and even their lifestyle. Based on this information, we established educational guidelines in order to solve these difficulties and both optimize and contribute to the success of the family-child adaptation process.

Extended Summary

The pre-adoptive period is a stage in which the child and the adoptive family are involved in a process of mutual adaptation. The present paper analyses this adaptation process during the pre-adoptive period.

The subjects were 21 children, classified as special adoptions, living respectively with 18 families (there were 3 pairs of siblings) in the province of Malaga. They were contacted through the local Child Social Service (Servicio de Atención al Menor de la provincia de Málaga). The children's ages ranged from 6 to 11 years at the beginning of the trial adoption period. Each family unit was made up of, at least, father and mother between 30 and 57 years of age at the time of taking the children in.

The data from each family collected over the two years follow-up period allowed us to identify problems related to parent's approach to education, their expectations and adaptation to the child's behaviour and development, their fears, their acceptance or rejection of the child, and even their lifestyle. This allowed us to develop general educational guidelines for the families studied. The aim being to prevent relationship conflicts which can emerge throughout the mutual adaptation process. These guidelines were subdivided into two areas of information: 1) the particular characteristics of the children, and 2) the adaptation process. They have been supplemented with additional, more specific, approaches aimed at solving conflictive situations often generated by: parent's fears, the threat of rejecting or of being rejected by the child, and the existence of adult lifestyles not suited to the child.

At the end of the intervention period, the families were asked to fill in a questionnaire evaluating both the psychologist's performance and the intervention procedure itself. The results showed that all the parents were satisfied with the psycho-educational guidelines they were given. They found of special value: a) The emotional support they received, particularly at the beginning of the trial adoption period—when they felt most disoriented with the new situation—and in moments of crisis. b) The explanations, based on the child's past, put forth to help understand the his/her behaviour; educational guidance aimed at acquiring rules and managing the child's behaviour; recommendations about family conduct at the beginning of the pre-adoptive period; and educational suggestions to help them deal with the child the issue of the biological family. c) The work carried out by the psychologist directly with each child; and also when, on occasions, the psychologist acted as mediator between parents and child.

Overall, parents evaluate positively the fact that they could always talk over their doubts and problems in a relaxed manner and with absolute confidence in the person responsible for the study. Some families, however, would have liked more help at the beginning, more ongoing contact, and a longer period of support, i.e., to continue until the end of adolescence.

The discussion focuses on two issues which have been frequently pondered by the research team. The first deals with the importance of selecting and preparing the adoptive family to ensure that the mutual adaptation process between the adoptive parents and children is successful. The second refers to optimizing the family adaptation process itself and the role of supporting psychologists.

Palabras clave:

• Acogimiento preadoptivo
• adopciones especiales
• dificultades de adaptación
• orientaciones psicoeducativas

Keywords:

• Pre-adoptive period
• special adoption
• adaptation difficulties
• psycho-educationa guidance