Being adopted in the school context: Individual and interpersonal predictors

Abstract

The experience of being adopted and the development of an adoption related identity are unique and dependent on both individual and interpersonal variables. The way the adoption story is lived can have an impact on the adoptee's wellbeing and adaptation, both at home and in the school context. The goal of this study is to analyze, from the adoptee's point of view, the experience of being adopted in the school context and the impact of the child's social competence, social disclosure of adoption and social reaction to the adoptive status. Ninety-four Portuguese adoptees, aged 8 to 10, participated in this study. The child's school experience of being adopted, adoption social disclosure and the social reaction to the adoptive status were assessed by interviewing the children. SSIS-RS was used to evaluate the child's self-report of social competence. Results showed that the adoption social disclosure, the social reaction to the adoptive status and the adoptee's social competence predicted the child's school experience of being adopted. Additionally, in the cases of children who reported a less positive social reaction, social skills moderated the impact of adoption social disclosure on negative feelings toward being adopted. As such, social skills can be seen as a protective factor on the personal adoption experience against negative social reactions.