Under the Same Label: Adopted Adolescents’ Heterogeneity in Well-Being and Perception of Social Contexts

Abstract

This study compares a sample of 223 adopted adolescents with a nonadopted reference group representative of the Spanish adolescent population from the “Spanish Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study.” Variables related to the family context, peers, school context, and emotional well-being are compared. Adoptees are not only analyzed as a group, but also according to the type of adoption (domestic or intercountry) and the birth area of origin (Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe). The results showed more similarities than differences between the whole group of adoptees and the reference group, as well as heterogeneity within the adoptees depending on their origin.