Fiore, SImon;
Luyten, Patrick;
Vliegen, Nicole;
Soenens, Bart;
(2025)
Understanding parenting stress in adoptive parents: a longitudinal multilevel study of parents’ self-criticism, child negative emotionality, and child age at placement.
Journal of Personality
(In press).
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Abstract
Introduction: Research on parenting stress in adoptive parents during the early years post-placement reveals significant variability, yet few studies examine both parent- and child-related factors. This study investigates the role of the personality dimension of self-criticism and perceived negative child emotionality in relation to parenting stress during the first four years after transnational adoption. Additionally, it explores the moderating effect of child age at placement, a key factor associated with early adversity. Methods: Drawing upon a longitudinal five-wave dataset in the first 4 years after the child arrived in the adoptive family, this study used multi-informant data of 96 adoptive mothers and fathers of transnationally adopted children (mean child age at placement = 13.48 months). Data were analyzed using a multilevel structural equation modeling approach. Results: Parents’ self-criticism was positively associated with parenting stress at the between-parent level. At the within-parent level, year-to-year fluctuations in both parents’ self-criticism and perceived child negative emotionality were positively associated with corresponding fluctuations in parenting stress. Child age at placement did not moderate any of these associations. Conclusions: Overall, this study yielded convincing evidence for the dynamic nature of parenting stress in the first years after child placement, and the role of parental self-criticism and the child’s perceived negative emotionality herein.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding parenting stress in adoptive parents: a longitudinal multilevel study of parents’ self-criticism, child negative emotionality, and child age at placement |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | transnational adoption, international adoption, parenting stress, parents' self-criticism, child negative emotionality |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199656 |
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