Abstract
Overseas adoption from South Korea is a widespread phenomenon in the West. Adoption studies have focused on early development and post-adoption adjustment during childhood and socioeconomic success during adult-hood. However, few studies deal with dating experiences and marital status of Korean adoptees, while these as-pects are a key factor determining subjective well-being and sociocultural integration. Several studies and popu-lar media highlight the status inferiority of Asian males compared to Asian females in the heterosexual Western courtship system. We therefore hypothesize that male Korean adoptees have more difficulties finding a partner than their female counterparts. Using a dataset stemming from a survey conducted among 290 adult adoptees living in the West, we indeed found that, after controlling for the effect of age and current income, males ex-pressed more difficulty in finding a partner and were more likely to be single than their female peers in their adoptive Western country. This gender disparity may have implications for policy makers who are concerned with general well-being of transracial adoptees and Asian minorities in the West.
Highlights
Transracial adoption, that is, the adoption of children into families of a different race, is a widespread phenomenon in the West
Given the large number of (Korean) adoptees living in Western countries and the impact adoption can have on their lives, it is not surprising that a large body of literature investigates how well particular adoptee groups fare in their adoptive countries (Kim, 2010; Tuan & Shiao, 2011)
Through adoption associations and social media sites Korean adoptees from the United States, Europe and Australia were asked to fill out an online questionnaire which included among other variables, dating experience, marital status and demographics
Summary
Transracial adoption, that is, the adoption of children into families of a different race, is a widespread phenomenon in the West. For almost four decades of the last century, the greatest segment of international adoptees were from South Korea Their popularity stemmed largely from the reliability and efficiency of the adoption practice resulting initially from the Korean war (1950-1953) that left many war orphans. Given the large number of (Korean) adoptees living in Western countries and the impact adoption can have on their lives, it is not surprising that a large body of literature investigates how well particular adoptee groups fare in their adoptive countries (Kim, 2010; Tuan & Shiao, 2011) These adoption studies, to date, have mainly focused on post-adoption adjustment and development during childhood and ethno-cultural identity formation during late adolescence and early adulthood (Basow, Lilley, Bookwala, & McGillicuddy-DeLisi, 2008; Kim, 1995; Shiao & Tuan, 2008). An important question is how ‘successful’ Korean adoptees are in finding a partner in their adoptive Western countries
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