Parenting stress of adoptive mothers, mother-child conflict, and behavior problems during adolescence among international adoptees.

International adoptees show more behavior problems than their nonadopted peers do during childhood and adolescence. Although conditions of deprivation experienced prior to adoption have been found to have a long-lasting impact on child psychosocial adjustment, the influence of adoptive families tends to increase over age. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of parenting stress and parent-child conflict on international adoptees' behavior problems in adolescence. Our sample consisted of 60 adolescents adopted during infancy and their mothers. Adolescents' behavior problems were assessed using the Dominic Interactive Adolescent, a self-report measure, and the Child Behavior Checklist, completed by mothers. Parenting stress was assessed using the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents. Adolescents and their mothers were also observed during a discussion to evaluate parent-child conflict. Structural equation modeling revealed that parent-child conflict mediated the association between parenting stress and externalizing symptoms.