Rosa Rosnati
Biographic Data
| ID | 81437 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rosa Rosnati |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rosa |
| FAMILY NAME | Rosnati |
| SIGNATURE | ROSNATI R |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Milan |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5994-1679 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 39 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 88 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Profiles of protection trajectories among children in residential care
The heterogeneity of trajectories implies quality tailored care for each profile. • Older age, emotional difficulties, and more ACEs associate with placement instability. • Long stays related to disability require promoting specialized foster care. Children entering the child welfare system frequently present histories of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which impact their well-being. Once in out-of-home care, factors such as placement lengt…
Measuring communication openness within adoptive families
This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Adoption Communication Openness (ACO) Scale. Following a multi-informant approach, the study considered four versions of the ACO Scale to assess the child’s perception of adoption communication openness with both mother and father and the mother’s and father’s perceptions of communication with the child. The validation sample included 331 Italian families, with an internationally adopted …
Parenting Adopted Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (Fasd)
Emotional & Behavioral Difficulties in Internationally Adopted Adolescents in 4 European Receiving Countries
Sense of coherence and Covid-19 related stress
Sense of coherence (SOC) is the fundamental concept of the salutogenic approach to health promotion. The main aim of the current longitudinal study is to consider whether SOC has had a positive effect in reducing people's levels of stress during the prolonged time of the pandemic or rather stress has posed a threat to SOC. A large sample of Italian adults completed an online questionnaire at three different moments of the Covid-19 pandemic (from …
Community Attitudes Toward Adoption in Italy
The article explores the attitudes toward the adoption of a representative sample of the Italian population. Focusing on the sociodemographic factors, stereotypes, and feelings about adoption, this study investigates whether and to what extent they can shape attitudes toward adoption. A large sample of 1,003, Italian adults was used in the study. The participants were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. A series of hierarchical regress…
Parents' dyadic coping, parent–child relationship quality, and children's emotional difficulties during the Covid‐19 pandemic
Although studies have highlighted the role played by couple and parental relationships for children's psychosocial adjustment, especially in challenging situations, research on these two relationship domains has largely developed separately and mostly focussed on negative couple processes. However, Family Systems Theory highlights how these subsystems are interconnected, and studies inspired by this theoretical framework provide evidence of how t…
The enduring role of sense of coherence in facing the pandemic
Research has been focussing on protective and resistance-related factors that may help people face the long-lasting psychological challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sense of coherence allows to remain healthy and to recover after stressful or traumatic life experiences. We aimed at investigating whether, and the extent to which, social support, in terms of both family and friends support, mediated the well-established link between sense of cohe…
Covid-19-Related Stress and Resilience Resources
Despite an increasing interest in how adoptive parents deal with situations appraised as stressful, there is a lack of research regarding adoptive parents’ adjustment to the challenges posed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The current study explores similarities and differences between adoptive and non-adoptive mothers in terms of risks (i.e., COVID-19-related stress) and individual (i.e., sense of coherence [SOC]), couple (i.e., partner's su…
Covid-Related Stress in the Financial, Relational and Health Domains. Which Longitudinal Effects on Present and Future Perception
While pre-covid literature about stress has indicated the importance of studying domain-specific stress, studies conducted during the pandemic have investigated covid-related stress as a monodimensional construct. The current study aimed to assess the impact that covid-related stress in three domains (financial, relational, health) had on individuals' psychological well-being and future anxiety. Furthermore, we aimed to assess whether the relatio…
Icar7 Special Issue
This Special Issue includes nine original, empirical papers selected from the 7th International Conference on Adoption Research. In the interest of disseminating the new empirical knowledge and science-based interventions to adoption stakeholders, these papers reflect what can be considered some of the most stimulating and innovative lines of research in the recent adoption literature
Marital and Parental Relationships in Adoptive and Nonadoptive Families
In the adoption field, there is evidence that parent–child relationship quality represents a crucial source of resilience for families. However, little is still known about the variables that may influence parental relationship and the mediating role played by coparenting in the association between marital and parental relationships. This study intended to explore the links between mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of marital and parental relatio…
Perceptions of domestic and extra‐domestic environment during the Covid ‐19 pandemic in an Italian representative sample
Perception of domestic and extra‐domestic environment plays a key role in structuring reality, representing the boundary between private and public life. COVID‐19 pandemic led to changes both inside and outside domestic borders, modifying those reciprocal perceptions. The aim of this study was to assess perceptions of domestic and extra‐domestic environments after the first wave of COVID‐19 pandemic on a representative Italian sample, and how suc…
The Mediating Role of Adoption Communication Openness between Family Functioning and the Adjustment of Adopted Adolescents
Family systems theories consider cohesion, flexibility, and communication as distinct but related key dimensions of family functioning. These dimensions are underexplored within adoptive families. We investigated the extent to which family cohesion, flexibility, and adoption communication openness relate to the adjustment of adoptees in adolescence. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 134 family triads, composed of internationally adopte…
Special needs of internationally adopted adolescents in 4 European receiving countries
Perceived Changes in Family Life During Covid ‐19
OBJECTIVE: The current study was aimed at exploring Italian parents' perceived negative and positive changes in family life during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account the role of the stage of the family life and family size. BACKGROUND: During the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families drastically changed their daily life and routines. Little evidence exists on how family characteristics, such as family size or presence o…
Adoptees facing adolescence
INTRODUCTION: In accordance with the "resilience paradigm", this study was aimed at exploring the role of the parent-child relationship in supporting internationally adopted adolescents' ability to develop a strong adoptive identity and a feeling of satisfaction with their own life. METHODS: Participants were 105 Italian adopted adolescents (13-17 years) asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. RESULTS: Results showed that adolescents gener…
Sense of Coherence and Covid-19
The strong restrictive measures adopted in 2020 against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy have deeply affected the general population's mental health. In the current longitudinal study, we specifically focus on sense of coherence (SOC), both in terms of comprehensibility/manageability and meaningfulness, among a large sample of Italian adults; SOC is a potential resource likely to foster the ability to cope with stressors. A total of 2…
When I think of me as a parent”
The current study explored whether and to what extent different procreative options (natural conception, adoption, homologous techniques, and heterologous techniques) were perceived as enriching or threatening to young adults’ expectation of identity motives fulfillment. Our sample consisted of 1380 Italian young adults (62.9% women) aged between 18 and 33 years who participated in a national online survey on young adulthood. Results showed that …
Bicultural identity in childhood
The BIIS-C provides valid and reliable scores for research on biculturalism in childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Writing about our adoption’
Intercountry adoption requires adoptive parents to assume their parenthood as well as to acknowledge the cultural and ethnic origins of their child. Narratives are effective means to help individuals cope with non-normative transitions, including adoption, as they allow them to make sense of and legitimise their experiences. This qualitative study sought to extend knowledge about the value of using narrative methods with adoptive families to expl…
Social and Family Factors Related to Intercountry Adoptees and Immigrants' Bicultural Identity Integration
Intercountry adoptees constitute a distinct acculturating group that differs from traditional immigrant groups. Yet, there is a lack of research examining the psychosocial processes related to the well-being of this group and how these differ from other immigrant groups. A study carried out in Italy based on a sample group of young immigrants ( N = 168) and intercountry adoptees ( N = 160) tests a model in which social (perceived discrimination) …
Ethnic Prejudice and Intergroup Contact in Prospective Adoptive Parents
While ethnic prejudice is considered a key factor in parental cultural socialization strategies, there is nonetheless a lack of research about this topic among prospective transracially adoptive parents and the extent of their contacts with members of minority ethnic groups. Participants in the current study were 175 couples: 102 prospective adoptive parents pursuing international adoption in Italy and 73 couples who at the time of the study neit…
The role of adoptive parents’ intergroup contact in fostering the well-being of adoptees
The present study examines the effects of a new cultural socialization strategy on the well-being of transracially adopted adolescents and emerging adults. Specifically, we propose a novel strategy focused on the role of adoptive parents’ positive contact with members of their children’s ethnic group of origin, which we labelled “extended intragroup contact.” The hypothesis was that observing ingroup members (adoptive parents, belonging to the fa…
How international transracial adoptees and immigrants cope with discrimination? The moderating role of ethnic identity in the relation between perceived discrimination and psychological well‐being
Research has consistently shown that discrimination based on ethnic group membership affects the psychological well‐being of ethnic minorities. Recent studies revealed that discrimination is also a relevant experience for international transracial adoptees, who have experienced a unique migration process. Yet, there is still a paucity of studies focused on similarities and differences between how immigrants and international transracial adoptees …
Bicultural Identity Integration of Transracial Adolescent Adoptees
A number of studies have focused on Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) to explore whether and how migrants and ethnic minorities, who experience multiple cultural belongings, perceive their two cultural backgrounds as compatible (vs. conflictual) and to study the impact of these differences on their psychosocial well-being. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on BII among transracial adoptees, who also experience unique conditions of dua…
Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures
Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face-to-face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the constr…
How international transracial adoptees and immigrants cope with discrimination? The moderating role of ethnic identity in the relation between perceived discrimination and psychological well‐being
Research has consistently shown that discrimination based on ethnic group membership affects the psychological well‐being of ethnic minorities. Recent studies revealed that discrimination is also a relevant experience for international transracial adoptees, who have experienced a unique migration process. Yet, there is still a paucity of studies focused on similarities and differences between how immigrants and international transracial adoptees …
Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents
Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thi…
Social and Family Factors Related to Intercountry Adoptees and Immigrants' Bicultural Identity Integration
Intercountry adoptees constitute a distinct acculturating group that differs from traditional immigrant groups. Yet, there is a lack of research examining the psychosocial processes related to the well-being of this group and how these differ from other immigrant groups. A study carried out in Italy based on a sample group of young immigrants ( N = 168) and intercountry adoptees ( N = 160) tests a model in which social (perceived discrimination) …
Family and Social Relationships and Psychosocial Well-Being in Italian Families With Internationally Adopted and Non-Adopted Children
This study compared mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of family and social relationships (marital relationship quality and social support) and psychosocial well-being (self-esteem, anxiety, childrearing stress, and satisfaction) in adoptive and non-adoptive families. Participants were 163 Italian international adoptive and 195 non-adoptive couples (mothers and fathers) with children aged between 7 and 11. Adoptive parents reported a higher marita…
Ethnic Socialization and Perceived Discrimination on Ethnic Identity Among Transracial Adoptees
There is limited research on how ethnic socialization and perceived discrimination concurrently contribute to ethnic identity development among transracial adoptees, and few studies have investigated these relationships across national contexts. Drawing upon the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) of human development, we examined the extent to which parental ethnic socialization and perceived discrimination as micro-lev…
The role of adoptive parents’ intergroup contact in fostering the well-being of adoptees
The present study examines the effects of a new cultural socialization strategy on the well-being of transracially adopted adolescents and emerging adults. Specifically, we propose a novel strategy focused on the role of adoptive parents’ positive contact with members of their children’s ethnic group of origin, which we labelled “extended intragroup contact.” The hypothesis was that observing ingroup members (adoptive parents, belonging to the fa…
Marital and Parental Relationships in Adoptive and Nonadoptive Families
In the adoption field, there is evidence that parent–child relationship quality represents a crucial source of resilience for families. However, little is still known about the variables that may influence parental relationship and the mediating role played by coparenting in the association between marital and parental relationships. This study intended to explore the links between mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of marital and parental relatio…
Bicultural identity in childhood
The BIIS-C provides valid and reliable scores for research on biculturalism in childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s personal values
Interest in research and theory of the transmission of values between generations has increased markedly in the past few years. Numerous studies have shown that parents’ effectiveness in socializing their children may depend on their own perceptions of their children’s attributes. Focusing on parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s personal values, this study compared parental perceptions to adolescents’ self-reported personal values …
Behavioral and Socioemotional Adjustment in International Adoptees
Dominated by intracultural comparisons between adopted and nonadopted children, adoption research has until now paid little attention to cross-cultural differences in the adoptees' behavioral and socioemotional adjustment. The present study is aimed at comparing children adopted in two different countries - Italy and Spain - and at verifying, through their parents' perceptions, the extent to which cultural context may contribute to shaping childr…
Peer-Group and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents from Intact and Separated Families
The Mediating Role of Adoption Communication Openness between Family Functioning and the Adjustment of Adopted Adolescents
Family systems theories consider cohesion, flexibility, and communication as distinct but related key dimensions of family functioning. These dimensions are underexplored within adoptive families. We investigated the extent to which family cohesion, flexibility, and adoption communication openness relate to the adjustment of adoptees in adolescence. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 134 family triads, composed of internationally adopte…
Writing about our adoption’
Intercountry adoption requires adoptive parents to assume their parenthood as well as to acknowledge the cultural and ethnic origins of their child. Narratives are effective means to help individuals cope with non-normative transitions, including adoption, as they allow them to make sense of and legitimise their experiences. This qualitative study sought to extend knowledge about the value of using narrative methods with adoptive families to expl…
Ethnic Prejudice and Intergroup Contact in Prospective Adoptive Parents
While ethnic prejudice is considered a key factor in parental cultural socialization strategies, there is nonetheless a lack of research about this topic among prospective transracially adoptive parents and the extent of their contacts with members of minority ethnic groups. Participants in the current study were 175 couples: 102 prospective adoptive parents pursuing international adoption in Italy and 73 couples who at the time of the study neit…
Peer-Group and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents from Intact and Separated Families
Significant others
In a study of social context in which adolescents live from an intergenerational perspective, the purpose was comparison of significant others of the generation of Italian adolescents (n = 595) and their parents' recalled others significant during adolescence (397 fathers and 416 mothers). Analysis showed the predominance of parents and above all the mother as the most significant others for both generations during adolescence. Further, today's a…
Behavioral and Socioemotional Adjustment in International Adoptees
Dominated by intracultural comparisons between adopted and nonadopted children, adoption research has until now paid little attention to cross-cultural differences in the adoptees' behavioral and socioemotional adjustment. The present study is aimed at comparing children adopted in two different countries - Italy and Spain - and at verifying, through their parents' perceptions, the extent to which cultural context may contribute to shaping childr…
Value transmission in the family
This study focused on value transmission in the family and assessed adolescents’ acceptance of the values their parents want to transmit to them (socialisation values), identifying some factors that may affect the level of acceptance. Specifically, actual value agreement between parents, parental agreement as perceived by adolescents, parent–child closeness and promotion of child’s volitional functioning, were considered as predictors. Participan…
Intergenerational relations
Family and Social Relationships and Psychosocial Well-Being in Italian Families With Internationally Adopted and Non-Adopted Children
This study compared mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of family and social relationships (marital relationship quality and social support) and psychosocial well-being (self-esteem, anxiety, childrearing stress, and satisfaction) in adoptive and non-adoptive families. Participants were 163 Italian international adoptive and 195 non-adoptive couples (mothers and fathers) with children aged between 7 and 11. Adoptive parents reported a higher marita…
Adult Adoptees as Partners and Parents
Adoption is unanimously considered a lifelong process, but adulthood and parenthood are life cycle stages that up to now have been explored only marginally. The principal aim of the present study is twofold: first, to analyze whether and how parenthood might lead the adoptee and his/her partner to reinterpret the adoption history and, second, to verify whether the attitudes of the two partners concerning adoption are similar or complementary. Thi…
Bicultural Identity Integration of Transracial Adolescent Adoptees
A number of studies have focused on Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) to explore whether and how migrants and ethnic minorities, who experience multiple cultural belongings, perceive their two cultural backgrounds as compatible (vs. conflictual) and to study the impact of these differences on their psychosocial well-being. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on BII among transracial adoptees, who also experience unique conditions of dua…
Introduction to Special Issue
This special issue focuses on the construction of ethnic identity among international transracial adoptees (ITRAs) in the context of their families and community. These studies represent an emerging focus on identity development in families where parents, as members of the dominant culture, face the task of helping children who are members of minority groups, develop a positive identity. Because the process of identity formation is developmental,…
Ethnic Identity, Bicultural Identity Integration, and Psychological Well-Being Among Transracial Adoptees
The ethnic identity development plays a crucial role in adolescence and emerging adulthood and may be more complex for adoptees who do not share their ethnic identity with their adoptive families. Evidence from the studies was mixed, with strong ethnic identity not always found to be indicative of improved psychological adjustment. Recently research carried out on ethnic minorities has highlighted that the relation between ethnic identity and wel…
New Trends and Directions in Ethnic Identity Among Internationally Transracially Adopted Persons
The collective findings of the six articles in this special issue highlight the importance of ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic identity among international transracial adoptees (ITRAs). A multidimensional developmental phenomenon, ethnic identity intersects with other identities, notably adoptive identity. Family, peers, community, and host culture are important socialization contexts that engage transracial adoptees in transactional proces…
Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures
Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face-to-face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the constr…
Parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s personal values
Interest in research and theory of the transmission of values between generations has increased markedly in the past few years. Numerous studies have shown that parents’ effectiveness in socializing their children may depend on their own perceptions of their children’s attributes. Focusing on parents’ perceptions of their adolescent children’s personal values, this study compared parental perceptions to adolescents’ self-reported personal values …
Ethnic Prejudice and Intergroup Contact in Prospective Adoptive Parents
While ethnic prejudice is considered a key factor in parental cultural socialization strategies, there is nonetheless a lack of research about this topic among prospective transracially adoptive parents and the extent of their contacts with members of minority ethnic groups. Participants in the current study were 175 couples: 102 prospective adoptive parents pursuing international adoption in Italy and 73 couples who at the time of the study neit…
The role of adoptive parents’ intergroup contact in fostering the well-being of adoptees
The present study examines the effects of a new cultural socialization strategy on the well-being of transracially adopted adolescents and emerging adults. Specifically, we propose a novel strategy focused on the role of adoptive parents’ positive contact with members of their children’s ethnic group of origin, which we labelled “extended intragroup contact.” The hypothesis was that observing ingroup members (adoptive parents, belonging to the fa…
How international transracial adoptees and immigrants cope with discrimination? The moderating role of ethnic identity in the relation between perceived discrimination and psychological well‐being
Research has consistently shown that discrimination based on ethnic group membership affects the psychological well‐being of ethnic minorities. Recent studies revealed that discrimination is also a relevant experience for international transracial adoptees, who have experienced a unique migration process. Yet, there is still a paucity of studies focused on similarities and differences between how immigrants and international transracial adoptees …
Ethnic Socialization and Perceived Discrimination on Ethnic Identity Among Transracial Adoptees
There is limited research on how ethnic socialization and perceived discrimination concurrently contribute to ethnic identity development among transracial adoptees, and few studies have investigated these relationships across national contexts. Drawing upon the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) of human development, we examined the extent to which parental ethnic socialization and perceived discrimination as micro-lev…
Social and Family Factors Related to Intercountry Adoptees and Immigrants' Bicultural Identity Integration
Intercountry adoptees constitute a distinct acculturating group that differs from traditional immigrant groups. Yet, there is a lack of research examining the psychosocial processes related to the well-being of this group and how these differ from other immigrant groups. A study carried out in Italy based on a sample group of young immigrants ( N = 168) and intercountry adoptees ( N = 160) tests a model in which social (perceived discrimination) …
Perceived Changes in Family Life During Covid ‐19
OBJECTIVE: The current study was aimed at exploring Italian parents' perceived negative and positive changes in family life during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account the role of the stage of the family life and family size. BACKGROUND: During the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families drastically changed their daily life and routines. Little evidence exists on how family characteristics, such as family size or presence o…
Adoptees facing adolescence
INTRODUCTION: In accordance with the "resilience paradigm", this study was aimed at exploring the role of the parent-child relationship in supporting internationally adopted adolescents' ability to develop a strong adoptive identity and a feeling of satisfaction with their own life. METHODS: Participants were 105 Italian adopted adolescents (13-17 years) asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. RESULTS: Results showed that adolescents gener…
Sense of Coherence and Covid-19
The strong restrictive measures adopted in 2020 against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy have deeply affected the general population's mental health. In the current longitudinal study, we specifically focus on sense of coherence (SOC), both in terms of comprehensibility/manageability and meaningfulness, among a large sample of Italian adults; SOC is a potential resource likely to foster the ability to cope with stressors. A total of 2…
When I think of me as a parent”
The current study explored whether and to what extent different procreative options (natural conception, adoption, homologous techniques, and heterologous techniques) were perceived as enriching or threatening to young adults’ expectation of identity motives fulfillment. Our sample consisted of 1380 Italian young adults (62.9% women) aged between 18 and 33 years who participated in a national online survey on young adulthood. Results showed that …
Bicultural identity in childhood
The BIIS-C provides valid and reliable scores for research on biculturalism in childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Writing about our adoption’
Intercountry adoption requires adoptive parents to assume their parenthood as well as to acknowledge the cultural and ethnic origins of their child. Narratives are effective means to help individuals cope with non-normative transitions, including adoption, as they allow them to make sense of and legitimise their experiences. This qualitative study sought to extend knowledge about the value of using narrative methods with adoptive families to expl…
The Mediating Role of Adoption Communication Openness between Family Functioning and the Adjustment of Adopted Adolescents
Family systems theories consider cohesion, flexibility, and communication as distinct but related key dimensions of family functioning. These dimensions are underexplored within adoptive families. We investigated the extent to which family cohesion, flexibility, and adoption communication openness relate to the adjustment of adoptees in adolescence. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 134 family triads, composed of internationally adopte…
Psychology (37 works) · Developmental psychology (28 works) · Social Psychology (24 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (22 works) · Social Psychology (18 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Ethnic group (12 works) · Clinical Psychology (11 works) · Identity (music (9 works) · Medicine (9 works)