My Interviews (2020)
Qualitative Analysis
I conducted a series of structured interviews with 25 individuals – both adoptees and non-adoptees – in order to investigate reported differences in mental health and self-identity patterns in young adults. Participants were recruited by convenience; descriptive statistics are provided in Table 1. Both the adoptee and non-adoptee groups were primarily female and small in size. In the non-adoptee group, only 38.5% of participants identified as part of a racial/cultural minority.
Through a list of ten questions, I evaluated prevalence of anxious feelings, depressed feelings, clinical anxiety or depression, culture matching, identification with the racial-ethnic majority or minority, and experiences of racial slurs and stereotypes. For purposes of my study, feelings of anxiety or depression were distinct from clinical diagnoses, and all of these experiences were considered in the context of interviewees’ racial/cultural identity. The term “culture matching” was used to refer to when an interviewee feels they belong to the culture that they were raised in. I utilized qualitative coding strategies to extract common themes from the interview responses, tallying counts of repeated phrases. For the purposes of this website, themes from the adoptee group are reported (see limitations below).
In the 12 transracial adoptees, ages 17-22, there was support for the concept of “cultural homelessness” where adoptees have trouble finding a community in both their birth and home culture [17]. Since transracial adoptees may not consider themselves as members of any single racial, ethnic, or cultural group, they are more likely to be labeled as an “outsider.” Interviewees explained feeling like an “automatic outcast” in social contexts such as school, friend groups, and even in their own extended family [22]. Participants discussed growing up in somewhat “White-washed” homes where birth culture was celebrated but White culture ultimately had the greatest cultural influence on their development [22]. In some cases, this creates internal tension because adoptees do not identify with their birth culture but also will never completely match their home culture. This is reflected in the stark difference seen between adoptees and non-adoptees in terms of culture matching/non-matching. In addition, since privilege cannot extend from parent to child, ethnic adoptees will never receive the appearance-based privilege of the dominant race despite growing up under the influence of the White culture. It is clear that negative experiences due to physical appearance are exclusive to members of the racial/cultural minority. 11 of the 13 transracially adopted participants reported experiences with racial slurs or stereotypes compared to 5 of the 14 non-adoptees, all of whom identify as members of racial/cultural minorities.
Ethnic adoptees are often victims of prejudice based on both their race and their adoption status. Several interviewees cited incidents of bullying and stereotyping in their childhood. For instance, racial slurs like “Chinq” were used as well as “Banana” or “Twinkie” to symbolize someone who is yellow on the outside and white on the inside; comments like “Open your eyes,” “What are you?,” “But where are you really from?,” and even “Your birth parents didn’t love you, that’s why they gave you up” were received. Participants also mentioned being confused for foreign exchange students, being expected to speak Chinese, and being termed “basically White."
Adoptees attributed non-adoption-related anxiety to academic pressure, growing pains, and “imposter syndrome” where individuals doubt their personal accomplishments and live in fear of being exposed as a fraud. On the other hand, adoption-related anxious feelings stemmed from fear of abandonment in childhood and fear of rejection as an adult. This fear of rejection may relate to racial/cultural identity confusion, little sense of belonging, and self-inflicted social isolation. Adoptees and non-adoptees showed comparable scores for mental health but adoptees rate their racial/cultural identity as being more significant to their psyche than non-adoptees. In addition, there are higher rates of clinical anxiety and depression diagnoses in adoptees despite the fact that prevalence of anxious or depressive feelings is comparable between the groups.
Quantitative Analysis
To quantitatively assess any differences in responses between adoptee and non-adoptee groups, I ran independent T tests on three continuous variables and six binary variables drawn from the interview responses. Comparisons between means and standard deviations for both groups are reported in Table 2, along with associated p values (statistically significant differences bolded). In these preliminary analyses, only three variables differed between the adoptee and non-adoptee groups: clinical anxiety, culture match, and experiences of stereotypes and/or racial slurs. It should be re-emphasized that of the non-adoptee group, only 38.5% of interviewees identified as a racial/cultural minority, so the measurement for experiences of stereotypes and/or racial slurs is certainly biased. Ultimately, the quantitative results primarily provoke further questions and future directions for research, as the limitations of the study and statistical strategies are substantial.
Study Limitations
This independent study was conducted over the course of one semester and only represent a preliminary literature review and mixed-method analysis. The convenience sample is small and non-representative of the local or national population. It is worth it to note that, in future studies, intentional thought should be given to what population should be represented by the sample. Transracial adoption histories vary by year, country, in-country region, and more, making it difficult to examine trends without bias. For instance, the One Child Policy in China existed from 1979 to 2015. This caused an outflux of children from China in that time period, but not in a proportionate way; a vast majority of these children were adopted in the United States. Thus, a sample that is representative of the United States population may neglect to account for the different experiences of adoptees and non-adoptees in other countries. Ideally, a future sample should be large and representative of the population of interest. Additionally, many more descriptive statistics should be included and used to assess study bias.
In terms of analysis, more robust qualitative and quantitative strategies should be used in a future study. Qualitative coding of interviews should be done in a more systematic way, involving a larger team of coders and a validation process for reliability. Themes should be extracted, analyzed, and compared extensively for both adoptee and non-adoptee groups. Similarly, more rigorous quantitative protocols should be utilized in a future study. More variables should be examined and quantified continuously rather than dichotomously. In addition, greater research should be done to ensure use of the most applicable, sensitive, and statistically powerful tests. Risk of confirmation bias is high in this study, so the findings are primarily used to ask more questions about the phenomena surrounding transracial adoption and identity development rather than to draw specific conclusions.
