IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v116y2020ics0190740919305183.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Psychological adjustment, attachment difficulties, and perceptions of family relationships in adopted and institution-reared children: The case of Chile

Author

Listed:
  • Jiménez-Etcheverría, Pamela
  • Palacios, Jesús

Abstract

Although there is great consensus that family-based alternative care is the most appropriate caregiving environment for young children without parental care, institutions are still widely used in Chile. However, few studies have been conducted with samples of Chilean children in out-of-home care. The first aim of this study was to examine differences in the socio-emotional functioning of adopted and institution-reared children in Chile. Fifty-two adopted children were compared with 50 children living in institutions. Standardized interviews, questionnaires, and a structured task to assess the children’s psychological adjustment, attachment-related problems and assessment of family relationships were used. The results indicated that adopted children showed significantly higher levels of socio-emotional functioning than institution-reared children, with the majority of adopted children scoring within the normal range and the majority of institutionalized children showing clinical levels of emotional and behavioral problems. In addition, adopted children perceived better parenting quality than institution-reared children. The second aim of this study was to examine the influence of adoption related variables on the psychological adjustment of adopted children. In line with our expectations, factors associated with more positive outcomes among the adopted children were a younger age at adoption and living longer with their adoptive families. The results have implications for policy and practice in Chile when taking decisions in child protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiménez-Etcheverría, Pamela & Palacios, Jesús, 2020. "Psychological adjustment, attachment difficulties, and perceptions of family relationships in adopted and institution-reared children: The case of Chile," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:116:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919305183
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105102
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740919305183
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105102?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Escobar, María Josefina & Santelices, María Pía, 2013. "Attachment in adopted adolescents. National adoption in Chile," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 488-492.
    2. -, 2013. "Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe 2013 = Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2013," Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe / Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 35864 edited by Cepal.
    3. Caprin, Claudia & Benedan, Laura & Ballarin, Luigina & Gallace, Alessia, 2017. "Social competence in Russian post-institutionalized children: A comparison of adopted and non-adopted children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 61-68.
    4. van den Dries, Linda & Juffer, Femmie & van IJzendoorn, Marinus H. & Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J., 2009. "Fostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 410-421, March.
    5. Francisca de Iruarrizaga Tagle, 2016. "Rediseñando el sistema de protección a la infancia en Chile: entender el problema para proponer modelos de cuidado alternativos y ayudar a la reunificación familiar," Estudios Públicos, Centro de Estudios Públicos, vol. 0(141), pages 7-58.
    6. Carolina Muñoz-Guzmán & Candice Fischer & Enrique Chia & Catherine LaBrenz, 2015. "Child Welfare in Chile: Learning from International Experiences to Improve Family Interventions," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ryan Cooper & Joseph Doyle & Andres Hojman, 2023. "Legal aid in child welfare: Evidence from a randomized trial of Mi Abogado," POID Working Papers 077, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Escobar, María Josefina & Pereira, Ximena & Santelices, María Pía, 2014. "Behavior problems and attachment in adopted and non-adopted adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 59-66.
    3. De Backer, Koen & Miroudot, Sébastien, 2014. "Mapping global value chains," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37176, May.
    4. Castresana, Sebastián & Durán Lima, José Elías & Mulder, Nanno, 2014. "Value chains in Colombian exports to the European Union: How inclusive are they?," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37183, May.
    5. Paniagua, Carmen & Moreno, Carmen & Rivera, Francisco & Ramos, Pilar, 2019. "The sources of support and their relation on the global health of adopted and non-adopted adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 228-237.
    6. Lehmann, Sonia & Springer-Heinze, Andreas, 2014. "Value chain development for cocoa smallholders in Ecuador," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37181, May.
    7. Kamiya, Marco & Navas-Alemán, Lizbeth & Pietrobelli, Carlo, 2014. "Access to finance in value chains: New evidence from Latin America," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37178, May.
    8. Brown, Rebecca & Ward, Harriet, 2014. "Cumulative jeopardy: How professional responses to evidence of abuse and neglect further jeopardise children's life chances by being out of kilter with timeframes for early childhood development," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(P3), pages 260-267.
    9. John William Grimaldo Guerrero & Carlos Jimenez Rios & Lony Mu oz del Villar & Elio Gomez Carre o & Jorge Bola o Turyol, 2021. "Equity and Renewable Energy: An Analysis in Residential Users in the Department of Atl ntico-Colombia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 107-112.
    10. Hajal, Nastassia J. & Paley, Blair & Delja, Jolie R. & Gorospe, Clarissa M. & Mogil, Catherine, 2019. "Promoting family school-readiness for child-welfare involved preschoolers and their caregivers: Case examples," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 181-193.
    11. Sauvé, Pierre, 2014. "Latin Americaʹs emergence in global services: a new driver of structural change in the region?," Papers 664, World Trade Institute.
    12. Chiliatto-Leite, Marcos Vinicius, 2021. "Constrained integration in Latin America: analysis based on a twenty-first-century centre-periphery vision," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    13. van Ginkel, Joost R. & Juffer, Femmie & Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J. & van IJzendoorn, Marinus H., 2018. "Young offenders caught in the act: A population-based cohort study comparing internationally adopted and non-adopted adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 32-41.
    14. Marinao, Osvaldo & Mulder, Nanno & Rivera von Hagen, Francisco, 2014. "Information technology enabled services in Chile: A new export niche?," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 40529, May.
    15. Lasio, Diego & Chessa, Silvia & Chistolini, Marco & Lampis, Jessica & Serri, Francesco, 2021. "Expecting an already born child: Prospective adoptive parents’ expectations in intercountry adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    16. Ward, Harriet & Brown, Rebecca, 2016. "Cumulative jeopardy when children are at risk of significant harm: A response to Bywaters," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 222-229.
    17. Faver, Catherine A. & Alanis, Erika, 2012. "Fostering empathy through stories: A pilot program for special needs adoptive families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 660-665.
    18. -, 2015. "Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2015: Challenges in boosting the investment cycle to reinvigorate growth," Estudio Económico de América Latina y el Caribe, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 38715 edited by Eclac.
    19. Tolmacz, Rami & Lev-Ari, Lilac & Bachner-Melman, Rachel & Timor, Meitar, 2024. "Adoptees' basic need satisfaction within romantic relationships: The role of attachment orientations and relational attitudes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    20. -, 2020. "Building a New Future: Transformative Recovery with Equality and Sustainability," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 46228 edited by Eclac.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:116:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919305183. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.