Sibling Co-placement as a Protective Factor: A Mixed Method Study on the Impact of Sibling Placement on Adolescent Adoptees’ Emotional and Behavioral Development

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the impact of either being separated or adopted with sibling(s) on adolescent adoptees’ emotional and behavioral development. Through a mixed method design, the study aimed to explore whether sibling placement had an effect on adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as on the way they express and regulate their emotions in conflictual situations. Findings revealed that, although both groups of adoptees developed adaptive strategies to cope with challenging events, those placed with siblings were in general faring better than those placed alone. Being placed alone was, indeed, associated with clinical scores on the self-reported Youth Self Report (YSR) Total Problems’ scale and to the greater use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. This highlights the significance of maintaining siblings’ relationships when co-placement is not possible.

Keywords:

• Adoption
• sibling placement
• adolescence
• behavioral outcome
• emotion regulation

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust under Grant [number 2776].