School victimization and psychosocial adjustment among Eastern European adopted adolescents across Europe

Background: Little is known about bullying experienced by internationally adopted teens residing in Europe. Objectives: Within the framework of an international research effort involving several\r\nEuropean countries, the main goal of this study was to explore the experiences of bullying victimization suffered by adopted adolescents, as well as its impact on their psychological adjustment.\r\nMethods: The sample consisted of 199 adolescents born in Eastern European countries and adopted in France (n = 50), Italy (n = 59), Norway (n = 25) and Spain (n = 65). Results: More than half of the adopted adolescents had been exposed to some form of peer victimization in the previous 2 months, with verbal harassment and social exclusion being the most common forms of victimization. Differences between\r\nreceiving countries were not statistically significant, suggesting a common pattern for Eastern European adopted adolescents living in Western Europe. More frequent experiences of peer victimization were associated with more psychological difficulties\r\namong the adopted adolescents.\r\nConclusions: Findings highlight that adopted adolescents might have considerable\r\ndifficulties in social integration with peers; these experiences of peer victimization\r\nmight play an important role hindering their psychosocial adjustment. The socioemotional\r\ndevelopment of adopted people is not only linked to their pre-adoptive experiences;\r\nfactors in their daily lives (i.e., peer relationships) may also be associated with\r\ntheir psychological adjustment later in life. Interventions are needed to promote the\r\nreal inclusion of these groups of children in their social and educational contexts.