Dyadic Sex Differences in Adoptive and Nonadoptive Family Relationships

during Emerging Adulthood

Amy Walkner-Spaan, M.S.W., L.I.S.W.Martha Rueter, Ph.D.

What do we know about adoptive families in emerging adulthood?• Retrospectively, adoptees, their siblings, and their

parents reported a general level of family closeness (Loehlin, Horn, & Ernst, 2010)

• Adoptive families reported less warm, supportive communication and increased conflict (Rueter, Keyes, Iacono, & McGue, 2009)

• Adopted adolescents were observed to have greater conflictual behavior towards their parents (Rueter et al., 2009)

Purpose

• This descriptive research explored relationship differences between adoptive and nonadoptive parent-emerging adult dyads by parent and emerging adult biological sex.

Sample• Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study

(SIBS; McGue, et al., 2007; Rueter et al., 2009)

– Families had at least two children– At least one adopted child in the adoptive

families• For this study:

– Eligible emerging adults were 18.50 – 22.49 years old

– Eligible mothers and fathers had one child 18.50 – 22.49 years old

Sample: Self-ReportMom

Daughter to Mom

Nadopt = 158

Nnonadopt = 117

Son to Mom

Nadopt = 114

Nnonadopt = 84

Mom to Daughter

Nadopt = 157

Nnonadopt = 114

Mom to Son

Nadopt = 114

Nnonadopt = 85

Dad

Daughter to Dad

Nadopt = 155

Nnonadopt = 117

Son to Dad

Nadopt = 112

Nnonadopt = 83

Dad to Daughter

Nadopt = 139

Nnonadopt = 97

Dad to Son

Nadopt = 109

Nnonadopt = 73

• Emerging Adults• Mage = 19.83

40%

1%

2%

53%

4%Asian/Pacific Islander

Black

Hispanic

White

Other/Mixed

• Mothers Mage = 50.43• Fathers Mage = 52.69• 97% White

Sample: Observation Parent

Daughter to Parent

Nadopt = 158

Nnonadopt = 117

Son to Parent

Nadopt = 116

Nnonadopt = 84

Parent to Daughter

Nadopt = 111

Nnonadopt = 80

Parent to Son

Nadopt = 95

Nnonadopt = 59

• Emerging Adults• Mage = 19.82

40%

1%

2%

53%

4%Asian/Pacific Islander

Black

Hispanic

White

Other/Mixed

• Parent Mage = 50.14• 98% White

Self-Report Measures Parental Environment Questionnaire (PEQ; Elkins, McGue, & Iacono, 1997)

• Conflict (12 items)– “My child and I often get into arguments.”– “My parent and I often get into arguments.”

• Closeness (12 items)– “My child doesn’t seem to feel very close to me.”– “I don’t feel very close to my parent.”

• Four dyadic relationship indicators:

• E.A. - Mother• E.A. - Father

• Mother - E.A.• Father - E.A.

Independent Observations • SIBS Rating Scores (Rueter et al., 2009)

• Conflict– Hostility scale

• Closeness– Warmth/Support– Listener Responsiveness– Communication – Prosocial

• Two dyadic relationship indicators

• E.A. - Parent• Parent – E.A.

Results: Self-Report

Closeness: Daughter to

Mom

Closeness: Mom to Son

Conflict: Mom to Daughter

Conflict: Mom to Son

2

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4

3.24 3.21 3.18 3.16

3.37* 3.36* 3.39** 3.33*

AdoptNonadopt

* = p < .05** = p < .001

Results: Observation

Parents to Daughters1

2

3

4

5

66.07*

5.46

Observed Closeness

AdoptedNonadopted

* = p < .001

Discussion & Future Directions

• Extends research on adoptive family relationships into emerging adulthood

• Individuation might affect adopted emerging adults differently

• Investigate the influence of adoption-specific variables on parent-emerging adult relationships

ReferencesElkins, I. J., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (1997). Genetic and environmental

influences on parent-son relationships: Evidence for increasing genetic influence during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 351-363.

Loehlin, J. C., Horn, J. M., & Ernst, J. L. (2010). Parent-child closeness studied in adoptive families. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(2), 149-154. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.09.012

McGue, M., Keyes, M., Sharma, A., Elkins, I., Legrand, L., Johnson, W., & Iacono, W. (2007). The environments of adopted and non-adopted youth: Evidence on range restriction from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS). Behavioral Genetics, 37(3), 449-462. doi: 10.1007/s10519-007-9142-7

Rueter, M. A., Keyes, M. A., Iacono, W. G., & McGue, M. (2009). Family interactions in adoptive compared to nonadoptive families. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(1), 58-66. doi: 10.1037/a0014091