The Effect of Family Communication Patterns on Adopted Adolescent Adjustment

Abstract

Adoption and family communication both affect adolescent adjustment. We proposed that adoption status and family communication interact such that adopted adolescents in families with certain communication patterns are at greater risk for adjustment problems. We tested this hypothesis using a community-based sample of 384 adoptive and 208 nonadoptive families. Adolescents in these families were, on average, 16 years of age. The results supported our hypothesis. Adopted adolescents were at significantly greater risk for adjustment problems compared to nonadopted adolescents in families that emphasized conformity orientation without conversation orientation and in families that emphasized neither conformity nor conversation orientation. Adolescents in families emphasizing conversation orientation were at lower risk for adjustment problems, regardless of adoption status.

Figure 1

Graphical Presentation of Mean Factor Scores for the First-Order Factor Indicators of the Family Communication Patterns Latent Variable. Note: First bar in every set: mother’s mean factor score. Second bar: father’s mean factor score. Third bar: adolescent’s mean factor score. Fourth bar: sibling’s mean factor score. Bars rising above 0 represent behavior levels above the overall mean. Bars falling below 0 represent behavior levels below the overall mean.