In the United States’ sociopolitical climate, there is an unfortunate number of ways to become “deviant”; and while deviance is not inherently bad, our society treats deviance with heavy stigma. These negative connotations follow marginalized groups throughout life, influencing how these individuals see themselves on all sociological levels -- from the individual alone to their place in their community. Each minority group faces unique oppressive pressures worthy of discussion, but the sociocultural group of transracial adoptees is particularly fascinating, severely understudied, and often misunderstood. In both international and domestic adoptions, children can be placed in the homes of parents who do not share their same racial/cultural background. Although, there is certainly nothing wrong with this on the surface, once one dives deeper, transracial adoption can have numerous implications on the future of these children.

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Transracial adoptees are a small minority group that is subject to an intriguing combination of social pressures that creates distinct stressors on mental health. Attempts to navigate two or more cultures when developing their racial/cultural self-identity can cause transracial adoptees to feel isolated from multiple social communities. In the case of non-White, transracial adoptees, they may also face greater discrimination than White parents which can create a divide between parent and child. Although White parents will never truly understand the “color-experiences” of their non-White children, the creation of a racially aware, multicultural family that embraces and praises differences can combat threats against a transracially adopted child’s sense of self which directly translates to greater mental health. These families have the chance to explore race relations with unique perspective by understanding psychological consequences of racial discrimination in US society, advocating for the development of multicultural identity, and amplifying the voices of marginalized people.