Depression, emotional arousability, and perceptions of parenting in adult adoptees and non-adoptees

Abstract

Adult adoptees (n = 144) and non-adoptees (n = 131) were surveyed in order to investigate (1) the relative contributions of adoptive status and parental variables to measures of adjustment, and (2) possible differences between searching and non-searching adoptees. Parental variables were more important than adoptive status in predicting depression, though adoptive status and perceptions of parenting were both significant predictors of emotional arousability. Searchers reported lower levels of parental care, acceptance, and supervision than nonsearchers. However, there was also variability among searchers depending on their motives for searching. Implications for counseling are discussed, particularly in relation to the diversity among adoptees.