Conduct Problems in Adopted and Non-Adopted Adolescents and Adoption Satisfaction as a Protective Factor

Abstract

The present study compared the level of conduct problems at age 17 in a large nonclinical sample of adopted participants placed in infancy and children in non-adoptive families matched to the adoptive families on demographic characteristics. Higher levels of adolescent and parent adoption satisfaction were associated with lower levels of conduct problems. Gender by adoption status interactions were not significant. However, female adopted participants had higher levels of conduct problems than female non-adopted participants, whereas male adopted and non-adopted participants had similar levels of conduct problems. In the overall sample, differences between adopted and matched control participants on all conduct problem measures were nonsignificant.

KEYWORDS:

• adoption
• conduct problems
• adolescents
• adoption satisfaction

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants HD010333, DA011015, HD036773, and DA013956.