Exploring the association between adoptive parents' attachment orientations and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties: The role of parents' self-compassion and mindful parenting

Although adoptive parenthood appears to positively contribute to adoptees' emotional and behavioral development, little research has been done on the mechanisms through which adoptive parents may impact the developmental pathways of their children. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between adoptive parents' attachment orientations and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties while examining the mediating role of adoptive parents' self-compassion and mindful parenting in this relationship, and to explore the extent to which the abovementioned associations differ from those observed in nonadoptive families. A sample of Portuguese adoptive parents ( n = 400) and nonadoptive parents ( n = 333) of children aged between 2 and 17 years old was collected through an online self-report survey. Serial mediation models showed that higher levels of adoptive parents' attachment-related avoidance or anxiety were associated with increased adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties. These relationships were found to be serially mediated by lower levels of self-compassion and mindful parenting. Moderated mediation analyses suggested that the association between parents' attachment anxiety and adoptees' emotional and behavioral difficulties through self-compassion and mindful parenting was significantly stronger in adoptive families compared to nonadoptive families. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the role adoptive parents might have on adoptees' postplacement emotional and behavioral difficulties, highlighting the importance of their levels of self-compassion and mindful parenting. They add new information for planning postadoption therapeutic services aimed to foster a positive adoptive parent–child relationship and, thus, the wellbeing of families challenged by adoption circumstances.