Yolanda Sánchez-Sandoval

Self-perception, self-esteem and life satisfaction in adopted and non-adopted children and adolescents / Autopercepción, autoestima y satisfacción vital en niños y adolescentes adoptados y no adoptados

Abstract This paper analyses whether the specific challenges of adolescence and adoption may affect the self-assessment of adopted adolescents. A total of 618 children and adolescents from Andalusia (southern Spain) between eight and 16 years of age (105 adopted and 513 non-adopted) participated in this study. For comparison purposes, different groups of non-adopted children (current classmates, children in residential care and children who have grown up with their biological families in socially disadvantaged areas) also participated. The Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) were utilized. The results reflect positive self-assessments on average at the beginning and during adolescence. There is a decline in self-perception, self-esteem and life satisfaction at around 11 or 12 years, with a slight recovery beginning at the age of 14. This trend occurs in adopted and non-adopted children and adolescents. Adopted children present self-assessments similar to children who live with their biological family. Children in residential care exhibit self-perception, self-esteem and life satisfaction that is well below the rest.

Diversidad familiar y escuela. Primera evaluación del programa «Familias Diversas, Familias Felices»

Resumen El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las representaciones que tienen chicos y chicas de secundaria acerca de la diversidad familiar y de cómo se ven modificadas a raíz de su paso por un programa de intervención en la escuela. La muestra estudiada estuvo compuestapor 45 estudiantes de 2o de E.S.O. (27 chicosy 18 chicas) que acudían a dos centros educativos distintos de Sevilla. La composición familiar de la muestra era mayoritariamente biparental (87%), habiendo un 6,5% de familias monoparentales encabezadas por la madre y un 6,5% de familias reconstituidas tras separación o divorcio. En ambos grupos, un miembro delprofesorado aplicó un programa de intervención denominado “Familias Diversas, Familias Felices” (González, Gutiérrez y Sánchez-Sandoval,1997b) con el que se alentaba a la reflexión en torno a la diversidad de medios familiares. Para probar la eficacia del programa, se siguió un diseño pre-test, post-test, aplicando antes y después de su implantación un cuestionario que fue completado individualmentepor cada estudiantey en el que se exploraban sus representaciones acerca del medio familiar y su diversidad. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la noción de familia en estos años está más impregnada de componentes psicológicos y relacionales que en los años de escolari- dadprimaria. Asimismo, se encontró que el programa contribuyó significativamentea flexibilizar sus posturas con respecto a la diversidad de contextosfamiliares.

Psychological adjustment in Spanish young adult domestic adoptees: Mental health and licit substance consumption.

Although adoptive families have been shown to provide a protective context for human development, some adopted children and adolescents are at increased risk for psychological adjustment problems. On the other hand, little is known about psychological adjustment of young adult adoptees. The aim of this study is to analyze the mental health and legal substance consumption (tobacco and alcohol) of young adults (n = 134) who were domestically adopted by Spanish families. Young adults showed significantly worse scores on the Symptom Check-List-90-R (Derogatis, 1975) and also more substance use than did the Spanish general population, but fewer difficulties than did the clinical population. On the Global Severity Index (GSI), 65.7% of adoptees were within the normal range, 24.6% were at risk, and 9.7% were within the clinical range. Male adoptees scored higher than expected for the general population on all subscales, whereas female adoptees did not. Age at adoption was not found to have a significant impact on adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record