David Brodzinsky - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by David Brodzinsky

PubMed, 1992

Psychological and academic adjustments were assessed in a group of 130 adopted children (six to 1... more Psychological and academic adjustments were assessed in a group of 130 adopted children (six to 12 years of age) living in five different family constellations: only children, children with younger adopted siblings only, children with younger biological siblings only, children with older adopted siblings only, and children with older biological siblings only. Few differences were found from one cluster to another, suggesting that family structure, while complicating the dynamics of adoptive family life, plays a minor role in adoption adjustment.

Marriage and Family Review, Aug 12, 1988

... Brodzinsky, DM (in press b). Looking at adoption through rose colored glasses: A critique ofM... more ... Brodzinsky, DM (in press b). Looking at adoption through rose colored glasses: A critique ofMarquis and Detweiler," Does adoption mean different? An attributional analysis." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Brodzinsky, DM, Radice, C., Huffman, L., & Merkler, K ...

Adoption Quarterly, Oct 21, 2019

Despite unique health risks and outcomes among adopted children, most pediatricians receive littl... more Despite unique health risks and outcomes among adopted children, most pediatricians receive little training about this population. The current mixed-methods study explored lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parents' (n ¼ 224, in 129 families) experiences with and perspectives on pediatricians. Parents in the study adopted via private domestic, public domestic, and international adoption. Parents who adopted via public domestic adoption were more likely to talk with pediatricians about adoption while parents who adopted internationally were most likely to feel positively about their pediatrician's adoption competence. Qualitative findings suggest that while parents did not look to pediatricians as sources of adoption expertise, they were disappointed when doctors did not take the adoption context into account when providing medical treatment. Findings hold implications for adoptive families, adoption practitioners, and health professionals, especially pediatricians.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1984

... children. First, to what extent are adopted children more vulnerable to emotional and academi... more ... children. First, to what extent are adopted children more vulnerable to emotional and academic problems than their nonadopted peers? Second, are adjust-mentproblems in adopted children related to their age and/or sex? ...

Child Development, Jun 1, 1984

200 adopted and nonadopted children, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years, were interviewed about th... more 200 adopted and nonadopted children, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years, were interviewed about their understanding of adoption. Both open-ended interview and structured Q sort procedures were used. Results indicated clear developmental trends in children's knowledge of the nature of the adoptive family relationship, as well as the motivational basis underlying adoption. Relatively few differences were found, however, between adopted and nonadopted children's knowledge of adoption. Results are discussed within the general context of children's acquisition of social knowledge. Implications of the findings for adoption policy and practice also are discussed.

Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, Apr 2, 2016

ABSTRACT Clinical program directors from 59 residential treatment facilities responded to an onli... more ABSTRACT Clinical program directors from 59 residential treatment facilities responded to an online survey addressing the representation of adopted youth currently being served by their organization, the extent to which adoption issues are incorporated into clinical intake and treatment processes, and the training needs of clinical staff related to adoption. Results indicated that adopted youth are disproportionately represented in these programs. Although constituting slightly more than 2% of the U.S. child population, 25–30% of youth currently enrolled in these programs were adopted. Clinical directors reported that most clinical staff had received at least a moderate level of training in adoption-related issues and typically integrated them into the assessment and treatment processes. However, they also viewed additional adoption-related training as important for their mental health staff. In addition, adopted youth were viewed by clinical directors as manifesting a higher rate of adjustment difficulties in a number of areas compared to nonadopted youth. Results are discussed in terms of risk factors associated with adoption and the need for adoption clinical training for mental health professionals in residential treatment centers.

Developmental Psychology, 1980

Spatial perspective taking was examined in 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old reflective and impulsive c... more Spatial perspective taking was examined in 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old reflective and impulsive children using a modification of Piaget's three mountain task. Results indicated that reflectives made more mature errors at 6 years of age and were more accurate in predicting another's perspective at 8 years of age, but they did not differ from impulsives in performance at 4 or 10 years of age. The results suggest that the development and expression of children's cognitive structures, at least in the spatial realm, are mediated by cognitive style factors.

Journal of Lesbian Studies, Jun 24, 2019

A sample of adoptive parents, including an oversampling of lesbian mothers (n ¼ 125), was surveye... more A sample of adoptive parents, including an oversampling of lesbian mothers (n ¼ 125), was surveyed regarding their family's school experiences related to adoption, satisfaction with how the school handled adoption-related issues, and their child's experiences with teasing at school. Linear and logistic regression analyses showed that lesbian mothers were more likely than heterosexual parents and gay fathers to disclose their child's adoption status in the school record and to ensure that the school was aware of the child's adoption. Lesbian mothers were also more likely than heterosexual parents and gay fathers to report talking to teachers about adoption issues. There were no differences as a function of parent sexual orientation regarding rates of children being teased about adoption status. However, rates of teasing regarding child race/ethnicity were higher for children of lesbian mothers and gay fathers than for children of heterosexual parents. The implications of the findings for future research and the provision of services for lesbian mothers are considered.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1976

Rorschach protocols of both black and white children from 7 to 14 years of age, who had been eval... more Rorschach protocols of both black and white children from 7 to 14 years of age, who had been evaluated at a child guidance clinic, were rescorcd with respect to developmental level of perceptual integration, It was found that black children had higher perceptual-integration scores in comparison to their white counterparts. This finding, however, was accounted for by the higher performance of low-IQ (70-89) black subjects as compared to low-IQ white subjects. No differences were obtained between average-IQ (90-109) black or white children. It is suggested that standard IQ tests may not adequately tap the cognitive capacity of some black children and that use of the Rorschach from a developmental-structural perspective may provide a useful adjunctive measure of intelligence that would more realistically assess children's cognitive competence. This research was undertaken while the second author was a predoctoral and postdoctoral fellow in child-clinical psychology at the Irving Schwartz Institute for Children and Youth.

Developmental Psychology, May 1, 1979

Reflective, impulsive, fast-accurate, and slow-inaccurate fourth-grade children viewed a videotap... more Reflective, impulsive, fast-accurate, and slow-inaccurate fourth-grade children viewed a videotape of an adult telling a series of jokes, half of which were followed by audience laughter, Spontaneous mirth and ratings of joke funniness were recorded. Whereas all children showed greater mirth to socially facilitated jokes than to nonfacilitated jokes, the effect was greater for impulsives than for reflectives or fast-accurates. Multiple regression analysis indicated the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) error (but not MFF latency), predicted children's affective behavior. Discussion of the results focused on the generalizability of conceptual tempo to areas of affect control as well as on the controversy over the defining criteria for this cognitive style.

Child Development, Sep 1, 1977

Children and Youth Services Review, Mar 1, 2017

Contact between adoptive families and birth families in the context of intercountry adoption, as ... more Contact between adoptive families and birth families in the context of intercountry adoption, as well as adoption by sexual minorities (e.g., lesbians and gay men), represent understudied topics. In the current study, we examine the extent and type of contact with birth family in intercountry adoptive families headed by heterosexual and sexual minority parents. Data were drawn from the Modern Adoptive Families project, a nationwide, non-random survey of adoptive parents' beliefs and experiences that was conducted from 2012 to 2013. The current sample consisted of 479 families headed by heterosexual parents (H) and 38 families headed by sexual minority women (SM) whose oldest adopted child was younger than 18 years of age and who had been placed from another country. Although no family type difference was found in contact with birth family prior to or at the time of placement (H = 9.6%; SM = 13.2%), sexual minority respondents reported a higher level of contact with one or more members of their children"s birth families following adoptive placement than did heterosexual respondents (SM = 28.9%; H = 14.4%), as well as currently (SM = 21.1%; H 9.8%). They also reported more contact with their children"s birth mothers than did heterosexual parents, although no family type differences were found for contact with other birth family members. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, Mar 1, 1994

... mance and personality adjustment compared to their nonadopted peers (Bohman, 1970; Brodzinsky... more ... mance and personality adjustment compared to their nonadopted peers (Bohman, 1970; Brodzinsky et al., 1987; Brodzinsky, Schechter, Braff, & Singer, 1984; Hoopes, 1982;Lindholm 4 Touliatos, 1980; Ternay, Wilborn, & Day, 1985; Zill, 1985). ...

Adoption Quarterly, Jul 3, 2014

ABSTRACT This study examines the emotional health of women who placed an infant for adoption duri... more ABSTRACT This study examines the emotional health of women who placed an infant for adoption during the first year post-placement and in their current life. Data were collected from 235 women, on average, 3.5 years after placement. Approximately 75% of women viewed their emotional health as “very poor,” “poor,” or “neutral” in the first year post-placement. Despite improvement in emotional health over time, over a third continued to report significant problems in their current life. Birthmothers' adjustment was positively related to level of support and to support satisfaction. Implications for helping women recover from this life stressor are discussed.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1993

The impact of parental separation and divorce on adopted and nonadopted children was examined. Al... more The impact of parental separation and divorce on adopted and nonadopted children was examined. Although children from nonintact homes showed poorer adjustment than did children from intact homes, the results were comparable for adoptees and nonadoptees. In addition, life stress associated with marital disruption was found to account for the majority of children's adjustment problems.

Clinical Psychology Review, 1987

Th e /J resent paper focuses on the issue of psychological risk associated with adoption. A selec... more Th e /J resent paper focuses on the issue of psychological risk associated with adoption. A selective review of the research literature is presented documenting the increased uulnerability of adopted children to behavioral andpsychologicalproblems. Following this rezliew, a new psychosocial model of adoption adjustment is described. The basic thesis of the model is that the experience of adoption exposes parents and children to a unique set of psychosocial conjlicts or tasks that interact with and complicate the more universal developmental tasks oj family life described by Erikson. It is further assumed that the extent to which parents acknowledge the unique challenges associated with adoptive family life, and the way in which they attempt to cope with them, largely determines their pattern of adjustment. In thefinal section of the paper, an elaboration of Kirki social role theory of adoption is presented and linked to tlarious patterns of adoption adjustment.