Transracial Adoption Research Articles

Racial and Ethnic Identity of Transnational Adoptees: A Model Reflecting the Lived Experience of Adult Colombian Adoptees

International and transracial adoptions have been practiced by multiple developed countries since World War II, where transracial adoptees are removed from their country of origin and raised by parents of a completely different cultural and racial background. In the United States, adoption was institutionalized after the Korean War, making adoption across races a common practice. This demographic change brings different developmental challenges to the transracial adoptee, including the task of racial and ethnic identity. In this dissertation study, the authors dived into the narratives of six Colombian transracial adoptees raised in the United States by White parents to understand their stories regarding their racial and ethnic identity process. The authors’ findings include the development of a racial and ethnic identity model that emerged from the participants’ themes and common lived experiences, including five nonlinear stages: questioning and curiosity; action-seeking behaviors; judgment and expectations; reculturation and reclaiming; and wanting to embrace both identities. Adult Colombian adoptees highlighted the fluidity of their racial and ethnic identity process and the importance of reclaiming and reconnecting with their Colombian part of self as part of this process. The ethnic and racial identity model informs mental health professionals’ clinical and professional practice by offering a guide to comprehending the process and some of the common experiences around ethnic and racial identity among transracial adoptees.

A Tale of Two Motherlands: Bridging the Gap Between the American and Korean Identities of Korean War Adoptees

In 1955, Harry and Bertha Holt successfully petitioned for the passing of Private Law 475 (Holt Bill), allowing for the adoption of eight orphans from South Korea. This was the beginning of a global revolution in transnational and transracial adoption. Prior to this, the idea of adoption outside of the United States was seldom possible; however, the work of the Holt family rationalized with the pubic and garnered much attention from the government and media. Even more so complicated was the idea of mixed-race Korean children, fathered by American G.I.s stationed in the country during the Korean War. Their existence challenged conventional American views of race and hereditary purity. This paper aims to explore the story of Korean orphans in the United States. Moreover, it will attempt to further understand the process of “Americanization,” which these children were subjected to. The work will also consider the ways in which both the United States and South Korean governments handled these adoptions. Undeniably, the media played an important role in influencing not only the general public but also the images of the Korean orphans and their families, both biological and adoptive. Finally, this paper will analyze the long-term effects of transnational and transracial adoption on children, taking into account the research of scholars prominent in the field. This will include the study of identity-formation and cultural maintenance in relation post-war Korean adoptees.

Promoting and Protecting the Developing Self-identity of the Young, Transracially Adopted Child in South Africa

Promoting and Protecting the Developing Self-identity of the Young, Transracially Adopted Child in South Africa

Critical Adoptee Standpoint: Transnational, Transracial Adoptees as Knowledge Producers

Drawing on Asian adoptee-authored research, this article conceptualizes a critical adoptee standpoint. It underscores the significance of adoptees as knowledge producers and offers new insights into family dynamics, racialization processes, and adoptee personhood. Through three conceptual themes derived from adoptee-authored research, it illuminates the intersectional power dynamics shaping adoptees’ lived experiences and challenges traditional adoption narratives. This approach repositions adoptees as agentic subjects who have cultivated a group consciousness that transcends traditional boundaries of belonging. While focused on Asian adoptees, the essay ultimately calls for broader recognition of adoptees’ contributions to adoption discourse and a more comprehensive understanding of a critical adoptee standpoint in both academic and advocacy settings and among the broader adoptee population.

Traces in the History of Swedish Transnational Adoption—A Diffractive Mapping through the Voices of Adoptees and Their Parents

The initial Swedish discourse of transnational adoption as a win-win situation has changed over its more than 60-year-long history. This article aims to trace and present some themes in this history, with a particular focus on the public debate and the different narratives that representatives of the adoption triangle—the adoptees, the adoptive parents, and the biological parents—tell when dealing with transnational and transracial adoption as a personal and political phenomenon. The article draws from an ongoing study of discourses and narratives of transnational adoption based, above all, on journalism, memoirs, governmental documents, and previous research. It attempts to present the contradictory perspectives on transnational adoption to create a diffractive pattern. The diffractive analysis makes it possible to show how the investigated narratives and discourses on transnational adoption change in encounters with experiences made, and even more so, made visible and knowledgeable, in social practices.

Female Chinese transracial adoptees' racial awakening amid dual racial pandemics.

2020 was marked by two racial pandemics-COVID-19-related attacks against Asians and the police brutality against Blacks that spurred the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement-calling attention to racial privilege and oppression in American society. The present study explores female Chinese transracial adoptees' unique lived experiences during this racially salient moment. A phenomenological approach captured how 20 female Chinese transracial adoptees navigated and made sense of the dual racial pandemics and the subsequent impact on their racial awareness, identity development, and advocacy. Data were collected using semistructured individual Zoom interviews and coded using phenomenological analysis. Findings suggest the dual pandemics acted as catalysts for female Chinese transracial adoptees' racial consciousness and reevaluation of their positionality within the racial hierarchy. Three core themes emerged: female transracial adoptees' new self-understanding as racial beings; their perspective on their place within the White-Black dichotomy; and their role in promoting racial justice. Our findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the complexities of female Chinese transracial adoptees' racialized selves as children of color who have been raised in White families; their motivations to foster racial justice; and their ability to facilitate race talk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Understanding of Cultural Difference: A Study of Transracially Adopting Couples

White parents who adopt transracially raise their children within a context of racial disparity, a history of generational inequity, racial bias, and discrimination. The purpose of this research study was to learn more about the experiences of white parents of transracial children, who had adopted within the United States. The research questions focused on how the parents understood and dealt with parenting a child of another race. This mixed-methods study identified five key themes that these white parents experienced as significant in raising children of color. The themes include motivation for transracial adoption; parental racial identity development; coexisting issues of race, trauma, and mental health; recognition and the impact of parent’s white privilege; and seeking and not seeking exposure to diversity for the entire family.

Transracial Adoption, Memory, and Mobile, Processual Identity in Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road

Representations of adoptions tend to concentrate on normatively conceived forms of identity, which prioritize the genetic lineage of adoptees. In contrast, scholarship on autobiographical writing emphasizes that identities are not fixed but are always in process and intersectional because they are formed in within inequal power relations. Kay’s experimental, autobiographical narrative Red Dust Road (2010) tackles the themes of adoption, the search for close relatives, and reunion. Many scholars of her autobiographical writings describe the fluidity of the diasporic adoptee identities created by her. My aim is more specific: I examine what I call Kay’s continuously mobile, processual identity construction as a transracial adoptee in Red Dust Road. I argue that her identity formation, which is also intersectional, is interconnected with her multidirectional networks of attachments and the experimental form of her adoption narrative. In addition to an intersectional approach and autobiographical studies, I draw on insights from adoption studies. In my reading of Kay’s work, I pay special attention to the inequalities derived from the intersecting vectors of adoption and race, which also intersect with other dimensions of difference, such as nation, gender, class, and sexual orientation. I employ the notion of the multidirectional in the sense in which McLeod applies it to the study of adoption writing. As I demonstrate, multidirectionality and the complex form of Red Dust Road provide versatile means of conveying Kay’s fragmented acts of memory, which assist her ongoing mobile, processual identity construction. Her multidirectional lines of transformative attachments finally bond her to her adoptive and biogenetic families as well as other affective connections. While Kay’s socially significant narrative indicates, amongst other adoption issues, that transracial adoptions can be successful, it is significant that it has no closure. The last chapter gestures toward potential new beginnings, which indicates that the story of adoption has no end.

Supporting transracially adopted children in white K-12 schools: Strategies for empowerment and inclusion

The transracial adoption of children into white communities is a growing phenomenon. Unfortunately, transracially adopted children are more likely to face identity issues, mental health concerns, and racism in white K-12 schools due to their lack of access to understanding, support, and resources. In order for transracially adopted children to thrive academically and emotionally, it is essential that educators become aware of the unique challenges transracial families face. In this paper, we will examine the challenges transracially adopted children face in white K-12 schools and provide strategies for educators to create welcoming learning communities that empower transracially adopted children and their transracial families.

Ethnic-Racial Socialization in Transracially Adoptive Families: Foundational Review and Educational Implications

While all families are responsible for the ethnic-racial socialization of their children, this process represents a nuanced undertaking for parents who have adopted transracially. Following the model of change (Mace, 1981), this paper first presents a review of the socialization and transracial adoption literature with a special focus on intrinsic and extrinsic factors shaping how children are socialized, followed by a set of practical strategies for adoptive parents and practitioners to use with the goal of empowering parents to take on the task of socialization confidently and effectively. Methodological considerations relevant for scholars studying ethnic-racial socialization are also included.

Migration of ‘Somebody’s Children’: Entangled Histories of Motherhood through Chinese Adoption in the United States in the 1990s

Abstract This article examines the entanglement of Chinese and American motherhood through Chinese adoption in the United States in the 1990s, during what Sino-American relations scholars frame as ‘the Long Cold War era’. The Long Cold War era refers to a long durée view of the structural Cold War derivatives in Asia that defies the linear and neat Cold War periodisation from 1947 to 1991. From the 1990s to 2015, Chinese ‘revolutionary motherhood’ and American ‘fortressed motherhood’ intertwined through the adoption of Chinese children into American families. Such enmeshment challenged the conventional narratives on international adoption as either a site of exploitation or paternalistic salvation towards transnational and transracial adoptees. By centring the lived experiences of mothers in both countries, this article employs mothers’ first-person accounts to interrogate the gendered politics of Chinese adoption, complicating the simplistic narrative of passive female victimhood in family settings.

Is This Us? Perceived Realism and Learning Outcomes of Entertainment Media Portrayals of Transracial Adoption

ABSTRACT Despite the increase in media portrayals of transracial adoption, little is understood about how viewers perceive these portrayals. Therefore, 36 interviews were conducted (20 with transracially adoptive parents and 16 with non-transracially-adoptive parents) to discover the perceived realism and learning outcomes of three entertainment transracial adoption portrayals. While transracially adoptive parents were generally more inclined to deem the clips realistic, the two groups reported similar elements of realism/unrealism. In line with social cognitive theory, several learning outcomes were reported by both groups of parents in addition to anticipated positive and negative effects of these portrayals. Results extend the applicability of perceived realism to transracial adoption portrayal and highlight nuances of social cognitive theory and the extended elaboration likelihood model among adoptive and biological parents.

해외입양 다큐멘터리에 나타난 트라우마 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the trauma of Korean adoptees in inter-country adoption documentary. Recently, there have been many cases of overseas adoptees returning to their home countries, and an understanding of them seems more necessary than ever. Through the documentary <Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and into the World> directed by a Korean adoptee, I try to focus on the trauma of inter-country, transracial adoption. As a result, it was found that the adoptees who participated in the documentary experienced adoption trauma such as attachment, racism, and identity throughout their lives. Knowing the signs and causes of adoptees' trauma will help understand return adoptees and give meaningful implications to our society, where multiculturalism is becoming subdivided beyond acceleration.

Subverting the principle of equality: the transracial adoption of Native children into white families in the USA

Subverting the principle of equality: the transracial adoption of Native children into white families in the USA

When ‘Good intentions’ Backfire: A Case for Non-Transracial Legal Guardianship Rather Than Adoption and Why Transracial Adoptions Are Not Trauma Informed

What are the consequences or impacts of transracial adoptions where the adopters are in the United States adopting either in the United States (domestic) or internationally (inter-country)? Findings from this study suggest that transracial adoptions have caused and continue to cause adoptees significant trauma and distress despite healing efforts like therapy, connecting with other transracial adult adoptees, and ceasing contact with adopters, for example. This article explores the experiences of transracial adoptees, the majority of whom use three words to describe the impact of their adoptions—trauma, grief, and loss. The primary recommendation is for the abolition of transracial adoptions, whether within the United States (domestic) or international (inter-country) as they are a harmful and legal mechanism that causes family separation and loss despite incorporating trauma informed practice. Non-transracial legal guardianship is a more trauma informed approach than transracial adoption that can ensure that children are safe and living in a home that allows them to not only survive, but thrive. These recommendations can be implemented if social workers are trained to be part of the solution of mitigating harm to children, rather than being complicit by allowing transracial adoption to continue.

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer

Reviewed by: Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer Danica Ronquillo Myer, Sarah Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story; written and illus. by Sarah Myer. First Second, 2023 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250268792 $25.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9781250268808 $17.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 9-12 Living in Maryland with her white parents in the 1980’s, Korean adoptee Sarah Myer has an active imagination. Her older adoptee sister and classmates find her rambunctious personality distasteful, but she is steadfast in her love for mermaids, drawing, and watching anime and cosplaying to express her queerness. These outlets help Sarah feel “safe and happy, shrouded in my identity as an artist. But something dark still lurked beneath”; she doesn’t know who her own birth parents are and cannot feel a sense of belonging anywhere as she experiences racism and bullying at school. As she enters middle and high school, she increasingly uses violence to defend herself and push people away, unable to control her anger and feeling as though she is a monster. This is a fierce graphic memoir with grit and honesty, and Myer’s mix of cartoon and sketch illustrations powerfully portray the loneliness of exploring marginalized identities within predominantly white, hetero spaces, with unsupportive faculty members and rising homophobia. While sparkling bright color palettes easily convey Sarah’s sense of joy and freedom at attending art and pop culture events, the bright hues contrast with the deforming panels, aggressive line work, and intense dialogue to skillfully capture Sarah’s dehumanizing experiences at school and deep insecurities. Visceral imagery of anatomical bodies and the ghoulish physical manifestation of anger represent Sarah’s raw, uncomfortable emotions. Eventually, Sarah finds a support system in her parents, who are sympathetic and admit their regrets for not doing enough for her, and in a theater club whose members genuinely want to be friends with her. Sarah’s father offers the keen observation that “sometimes people try to invade your world without trying to understand or respect it,” underscoring the book’s message to young people to find their happiness and build the life they want for themselves. End matter has an author’s note and adoptee and mental health resources. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Transracial adoption: art therapists’ views on facilitating children's racial and adoptive identity

ABSTRACT Background There is an absence of research on working with transracially adopted children in the UK. This suggests the need to provide insight into how art psychotherapy practice can be used to explore the transracially adopted child's lived experience of navigating their racial and adoptive identity. The theory of intersectionality highlights the importance of recognising marginalised categories of identity. Without such, these children may only integrate partial knowledge of themselves, which inevitably undermines their voice and ability to hold power in a racialised and oppressive socio-political system. Aims The study aimed to explore: how art therapists work with transracially adopted children to help them find a coherent sense of self; what therapists themselves consider the benefits and limitations of the art psychotherapy practice; intersectional thinking as a way to avoid examining identity differences in silos. Methods This study used semi-structured interviews to gather the views of four art psychotherapists. Thematic analysis was then used to analyse the data collected. Results Evolved as three themes: the containing role of art psychotherapists, primary caregivers and wider care system; a child-led approach; the challenge of integrating cultural humility into the art psychotherapy profession. Conclusion Findings highlighted a systemic approach to processing trauma, including the use of shared, joined-up and non-verbal language could be key in helping transracial adoptees explore their identity using culturally relevant approaches in art psychotherapy. Implications for practice and future research The researcher recommends that access to cultural humility training is formalised for art psychotherapists in order to establish anti-oppressive frameworks. Plain-language summary This article outlines a research project, which examined how art psychotherapy can be used to explore the identity of children and young people who have been adopted transracially. Within this context, it sought to gain a better understanding of how art psychotherapists currently use artmaking and creativity in the therapeutic relationship with these children. It is recognised that for a transracially adopted child's placement to be successful their sense of identity and belonging needs to be supported. In some areas of the UK, post-adoption support exists, which includes access to art psychotherapy. For this research project, four qualified UK based art psychotherapists were interviewed in the hope of revealing what these participants considered to be the benefits and the limitations of art psychotherapy practice when working with this client group. Additionally, the researcher examined the art psychotherapists’ motivations for engaging in this specific subject area. Participants were further asked if any personal challenges, such as their own racial background and/or unconscious biases arose when navigating a transracially adopted child's racial and adoptive identity. From the findings, the researcher provided recommendations that recognise the need for the formal integration of cultural humility for both trainee and qualified art psychotherapists. This small study highlighted three themes: the containing role of art psychotherapists, primary caregivers and the wider care system; a child-led approach; and the challenge of integrating cultural humility into the art psychotherapy profession.

Documentary analysis of the legal and policy framework of transracial adoption in South Africa

AbstractTransracial adoption was legalized in South Africa through legislative reform as South Africa moved into a post‐apartheid era of non‐racialism. Transracial adoption offers one option of placement for Black children in need of alternative care. However, adoption continues to face obstacles to implementation, including cultural obstacles which impact on placement of Black African children. This paper reports on adoption statistics on national adoption in the period 2013–2021 and a documentary analysis of the current legal and policy framework governing transracial adoption. We cover international instruments, local laws, including the Children's Act of 2005, and relevant policy documents designed to facilitate the implementation of adoption. We show that the law is supportive of transracial adoption, but that policy documents offer a somewhat contradictory stance to the practice. The lack of success of transracial adoption as a child protection strategy does not lie within the legal framework but may lie in the difficulties in interpreting and implementing the range of different policies by those implementing these policies. More research into the implementation practice of these bureaucrats is required to understand the underutilization of transracial adoption as a placement option for Black children in South Africa.

The Paradoxes of Closed Stranger Adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand

Transracial adoptees continually navigate the paradoxes of adoption, which arise in bio-normative and racialized contexts. “Being-adopted-and-Māori” was explored with 15 Māori adult adoptees. Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis revealed experiences of adoptive and racial “differentness,” centered around four key paradoxes: “as if born to”; the lived experience of transracial adoption; post-reunion biological kinship; and whaka-papa. Examining these paradoxes elucidated the discursive basis of lived and felt contradictions and ambivalence, as well as otherness and exclusion. Māori adoptee identities are considered paradoxical precisely because they disobey hegemonic discourses. Their experiences tell us how dominant discourses of adoption and identity need to change.

“I’ve Really Let Go of the Language Thing.”: Language Learning in Transracial Adoptive Families in South Africa

In South Africa, transracial adoption could result in the loss of birth language for the adopted child. Language is an important part of racial and cultural identity in South Africa. Not being able to speak a local African language causes Black African transracial adoptees to be judged by outsiders. Lack of fluency in an appropriate language limits social circles associated with biological family and makes reunion more complex. Many transracial adoptive parents wish to facilitate the learning of a local language for their adopted children or the entire transracial adoptive family. However, despite their best intentions, most transracial adoptive families fail in this endeavor. Reasons for this and recommendations for practice are discussed.