Bullying victimization among internationally adopted adolescents: Psychosocial adjustment and moderating factors
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2978195Utgivelsesdato
2022-02Metadata
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Originalversjon
Ferrari, L., Caravita, S.C.S, Ranieri, S., Canzi, E., Rosnati, R. (2022) Bullying victimization among internationally adopted adolescents: Psychosocial adjustment and moderating factors. PLOS ONE, 17 (2) 10.1371/journal.pone.0262726Sammendrag
Bullying constitutes a serious risk factor for the psychosocial adjustment of young people in both the general population and minority groups. Among minorities, international adoptees are likely to show a specific vulnerability to the experience of being bullied, moderated by specific risk and protective factors. This study aimed to investigate the association between adoptees’ experience of bullying victimization and their psychosocial adjustment, and to explore the moderating role of adoptive identity and reflected minority categorization. An online, anonymous self-report questionnaire was completed by 140 adolescents (13–17 years), who were internationally adopted by Italian families. Findings showed that being victimized was associated with higher levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties, but that the strength of this relation varied according to the levels of adoptive identity and reflected minority categorization. Specifically, victimization was found to have a more detrimental and negative impact on psychological adjustment for adoptees who were highly identified with the adoptive group, and reported to be less perceived by others as members of the minority group. Results are discussed in relation to recommendations for further research as well as for professionals working with internationally adopted adolescents.