title: Mental health problems and resilience in international adoptees: Results from a population-based study of Norwegian adolescents aged 16-19 years.
abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate mental health and resilience in adolescents who have been internationally adopted and their non-adopted peers and examine the potential interaction between adoption status and resilience on mental health problems. Data from the population based youth@hordaland-survey, conducted in Hordaland County, Norway, in 2012 was used. In all, 10 257 adolescents aged 16-19 years provided self-reported data on several mental health instruments. Of these, 45 adolescents were identified as internationally adopted. Adoptees reported more symptoms of depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and perfectionism than non-adopted adolescents, but there were no differences regarding resilience. Adolescents with higher resilience scores reported fewer symptoms of mental health problems, however, no interaction effects were found for adoption status and total resilience score on measures of mental health problems. Our findings indicate that knowledge of resilience factors can form the basis for preventive interventions.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, Oslo/Bergen, Norway; Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: kristin.gaertner@fhi.no.
authors.forename: Kristin Gärtner
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Askeland
authors.affiliation: Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hysing
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, Oslo/Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Leif Edvard
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Aarø
authors.affiliation: University of Bergen, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Grethe S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Tell
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, Oslo/Bergen, Norway; Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, Helse Fonna, Haugesund, Norway.
authors.forename: Børge
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sivertsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D009663:Norwalk virus; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescence; Adoption; Mental health; Resilience