Too Korean to be White and Too White to Be Korean: Ethnic Identity Development Among Transracial Korean American Adoptees

Hoffman, Joy; Peña, Edlyn V.

doi:10.1515/jsarp-2013-0012

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For them, ethnic identity development can become a complicated and emotional journey because they have no contact with their birth parent or their heritage. Even many adoptive parents try their best to educate their adopted children about their root culture, but the children still face the challenge of development (Brodzinky in Hoffman and Pena, 2013). Brodzinky suggests that the adoptee should find a "biological mirror'' to ensure the adoptee does not force themselves to feel similar to their adoptive parents.…”

Section: Article Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Portrayal of a Korean Adoptee’s Experience in Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption

Maziyya¹

2021

RUBIKON: JTAS

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Transnational adoption has become one of the factors of transnational migration to Western countries, including America. Transnational adoption can be viewed from at least two perspectives, South Korea as the origin country and America as the targeted country. From the birth country, transnational adoption becomes a way to help the children from poverty, have a better future, and contribute to the birth country when they return. From the adoption-targeted country, this adoption is a humanitarian way to save the children from poverty, primitive way of life, and God’s blessing. One of the countries which regularly “send” the children to Western countries is South Korea. The children become Korean adoptees and mostly living in white American neighborhoods. Living with white Americans has shaped the Korean adoptees’ behavior and way of thinking same as Americans. Korean adoptees face various problems, starting from adjusting themselves in new environment, finding their cultural roots and identity, and struggling to find their biological parents. This study employed Phinnes’ ethnic identity development to make sense of the experience of a Korean adoptee called Nicole Chung in her memoir, All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption. Through the discussion, it can be understood how transnational adoption programs become national agenda and big business field since it is not expensive to have children from other countries. There is also an assumption that the children will have better and happier life when they are taken to America and other western countries. However, throughout their life as adopted children in America, the children also find difficulties, especially in finding their identity.

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Section: Article Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Portrayal of a Korean Adoptee’s Experience in Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption

Maziyya¹

2021

RUBIKON: JTAS

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“…In recent years, some studies have started to pay attention to transracial adoptees’ lived experiences with identity exploration (Godon-Decoteau et al, 2018; Hoffman & Vallejo Peña, 2013) and navigating race and culture (Blair & Liu, 2020; Brian, 2012; Kim et al, 2010). It is common for these studies to document challenges, contradictions, and differences in how adoptees made sense of their adoption and their ethnic identity within the larger society.…”

Section: Sense Of Exclusion and International Adoptees’ Short- And Lo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Female adopted Chinese-American youth’s sense of exclusion and short-and long-term adjustment.

Tan¹,

Wang²,

Hao³

et al. 2021

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

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In this article, we tested if female adopted Chinese youth's sense of exclusion predicted their behavioral adjustment and mental disorder diagnoses concurrently (Study 1) and longitudinally 5 years later (Study 2). In Study 1, 224 adoptees (M = 13.6 years, SD = 2.1) provided survey data on sense of exclusion (as indexed by ethnic marginality, ethnic identity search, and negative feelings toward adoption) and Internalizing Problems (i.e., anxiety, withdrawal, and somatic complaints), measured with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-Youth Self-Report.In Study 1, the adoptive parents additionally completed the CBCL parent-report on the adopted children's Internalizing Problems and reported if the adopted children had any mental disorder diagnoses. In Study 2, 60 youth from Study 1 (M = 18.6 years, SD = 2.1) completed the 3rd edition of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Self Report of Personality (BASC-3-SRP) that measures School Problems (i.e., negative attitudes toward teacher, negative attitudes toward school, and sensation seeking), Internalizing Problems (i.e., atypicality, locus of control, social stress, anxiety, depression, sense of inadequacy, and somatization), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; i.e., inattention and hyperactivity), and Personal Adjustment (i.e., relations with parents, peer relations, self-esteem, and self-reliance). They also responded to questions on receiving mental disorder diagnoses and treatments. We found that in Study 1, 33.2% of the youth had at least one diagnosis, with Anxiety Disorder (21.4%), ADD/ADHD (16.7%), and Attachment Disorder (7.5%) being the top three disorders. In Study 2, 40.3% had at least one diagnosis, with Anxiety Disorder (25.0%), Depression (21.7%), and ADD/ADHD (16.7%) being the top three disorders. Path analyses showed that in Study 1, ethnic marginality and negative feelings about adoption, but not ethnic identity search, significantly predicted parent-reported and self-reported Internalizing Problems; in Study 2, none of the three indicators of sense of exclusion predicted the adopted youth's adjustment.

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“…These students have distinct racial experiences compared to their nonadopted or monoracial peers, suggesting that their racial identity development processes may differ as well. The strength of a transracial adoptee's connection to an APIDA identity, for example, may be contingent on how they negotiate the intersections of their adoptee identity, their ethnic identity, and their experiences with Whiteness (Hoffman & Pena, ). Similarly, how multiracial APIDA students make meaning of racial identity can depend on a combination of familial, cultural, and environmental influences (Wijeyesinghe, ), resulting in varying degrees of identification with the APIDA label.…”

Section: Complicating Apida Racial and Ethnic Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexities of Racial Identity Development for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) College Students

Chan

2017

New Drctns for Student Srvcs

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Too Korean to be White and Too White to Be Korean: Ethnic Identity Development Among Transracial Korean American Adoptees

Cited by 14 publications

References 11 publications

The Portrayal of a Korean Adoptee’s Experience in Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption

The Portrayal of a Korean Adoptee’s Experience in Nicole Chung’s All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir of Adoption

Female adopted Chinese-American youth’s sense of exclusion and short-and long-term adjustment.

Complexities of Racial Identity Development for Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) College Students

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