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Selected Works of Linda A. Camras
Article
Family stress, parenting styles, and behavioral adjustment in preschool-age adopted Chinese girls
Early Childhood Research Quarterly (2012)
  • Tony Xing Tan, University of South Florida
  • Linda A. Camras
  • Huihua Deng, Southeast University of China
  • Minghao Zhang, Linyi Normal University
  • Zuhong Lu, Southeast University of China
Link
Abstract
This study seeks to extend previous research on family stress, parenting, and child adjustment to families
with adopted Chinese children. In doing so, we also seek to strengthen inferences regarding the experiential
underpinnings of previously obtained relationships among these variables by determining if they also
occur in families where parents and children are not biologically related. Participants were families of 133
preschool-age adopted Chinese girls (Mage = 5.2 years, SD = 0.7; Mage at adoption = 12.8 months, SD = 4.1). Data
on family stress, parenting styles, and children’s behavioral adjustment were collected from the adoptive
mothers with the Social Problem Questionnaire (SPQ), Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire
(PSDQ), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) respectively. Results showed that adoptive mothers reported
relatively mild family stress, frequent authoritative parenting, and few behavior problems in their children.
Nonetheless, family stress, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles positively correlated with
children’s behavioral problems. Finally, authoritarian parenting mediated the effect of non-child-related
family stress (NCR-stress) on the adopted Chinese girls’ CBCL internalizing and overall problems, even
after controlling for corresponding CBCL scores from 2 years earlier. Our results showed that the overall
pattern of relationships found in non-adoptive families is also seen in families with adopted Chinese
children.
Keywords
  • Family stress,
  • Parenting styles,
  • Child adjustment,
  • Adopted children,
  • Mediating effect
Disciplines
Publication Date
2012
DOI
10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.04.002
Citation Information
Tony Xing Tan, Linda A. Camras, Huihua Deng, Minghao Zhang, et al.. "Family stress, parenting styles, and behavioral adjustment in preschool-age adopted Chinese girls" Early Childhood Research Quarterly Vol. 27 Iss. 1 (2012) p. 128 - 136 ISSN: 0885-2006
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/linda_camras/57/