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Stress and Coping in Struggling Adoptive Families

Overview

As the name of this study suggests, this research is predicated on the assumption that children adopted from the child welfare system are at risk for behavioral and emotional problems after adoption that contribute to parenting stress.  This study examines families at the initiation of Adoption Preservation Services and at the close of services, examining several aspects of family and individual functioning, particularly child behavior, parenting, stress, parental depression, and family coping—factors which have been linked in previous research on birth families.*

While Adoption Preservation Services are available to any struggling family, the majority of those receiving services have adopted children from foster care.  The sample for this study is children adopted from the child welfare system in Illinois.  One hundred and thirty families form the sample.

Funding Source

Data were collected with funding from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Data analysis is supported by the School of Social Work at Illinois State University.

Research Questions and Measures

What are the levels of behavioral and emotional problems of children in the Stress and Coping study at service initiation and at service completion?  In two parent families, do levels of identified behavior problems differ between caregivers?

  • Measure: Child Behavior Checklist – each parent, teacher and youth where appropriate.

What are the levels of parenting stress among participating parents at service initiation and service completion?  In two parent families, do levels of stress differ between caregivers?

  • Measure: Parenting Stress Index (Short Form), Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA).

What are the levels of depression among parent participants at service initiation and at service completion?  In two parent families, do levels of depression differ between caregivers?

  •  Measure:  Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).

What common coping styles among Stress and Coping study parents? In two parent households, do coping types differ?

  • Measure:  Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale – F-COPES.

What are the relationships among child behavior problems, parental stress, parental depression and family coping at case opening?  At the completion of services?

  •  Measures:  Please see above.

What associations exist between family characteristics (for example: single vs. two parent families, race, household size) and child behavior problems, parental stress, parental depression and family coping styles at case opening? At the completion of services?

  • Measures: The Stress and Coping case opening and case closing forms and measures are listed above.

Selected Findings to date

 

At case initiation:

  • Children in the Stress and Coping study have very serious behavioral and emotional problems, scoring much higher than children referred for mental health services on many of the subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist.
  • Mean scores of children in each age and gender group are higher than the means of clinically referred children on externalizing behaviors (delinquent and aggressive behavior). Adolescent girls as a group are evidence of the most severe behavior problems.
  • Parents reports high levels of stress, with primary caregivers scoring in the 87th percentile on the PSI/SIPA, and secondary caregivers in the 85th.  High levels of parenting stress are associated with aggressive behavior in children.
  • Despite high levels of behavior problems and parental stress, the significant majority of parents (72%) scored as minimally depressed on the BBI-II.  In cases where high levels of depression are present, scores are associated with lower coping scores and higher levels of parental distress.  For mothers, higher levels of child behavior problems are associated with higher depression scores.
  • Parents were generally coping well, scoring in the 65th percentile on the total coping score on the F-COPES.  On the reframing subscale, however, both primary and secondary caregivers score low (below the 40th percentile).
  • No associations between standardized measures and demographic variables such as age, income, race or parental educational level were found.

Project Status

All data are collected and entered.  Data analysis of pre test measures are complete and comparative analysis of pre and post test data is underway.

*Adoption Preservation Services are intensive therapeutic services to adoptive families in Illinois, providing crisis intervention, child, parent, and family counseling, advocacy, support groups for parents and children and limited cash assistance.

[Updated April 22, 2008]