Parental Satisfaction in the Adoption of Children with Learning Disorders: The Role of Behavior Problems

We sought to determine the extent to which children's behavior problems would mediate the relationship between children's learning disorders and adoption satisfaction using nationally representative datafrom 1,865 adoptive parents. We found that high levels of behavior problems, operationalized as internalizing and externalizing behavior s, occurred more frequently in children with learning disorders, supporting our mediational model. We concluded that it was the behavior problems, not the learning disorders, that were most problematic for parents. Implications for bothpre-and postadoption services are highlighted.