Abstract

This study aims to compare two groups of 25 adopted adolescents (open vs. closed adoption) with respect to attachment security and psychosocial adjustment. Moreover the two groups were compared with meta-analytical data referred to non-clinical and clinical adolescent samples. The Attachment Interview for Childhood ad Adolescents (AICA) and the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) were used to assess, respectively, attachment security and psychosocial adjustment. Results showed an higher risk of insecure attachment and a lower level of psychosocial adjustment in open adopted adolescents. These outcomes can be attributed to both characteristics of open and closed adoption and individual preadoptive histories.