Devyn Nan – Social Work

Culture Training for Transracial Adoptive Parents

Culture Training for Transracial Adoptive Parents

“Background: Transracial adoptions occur when parents adopt a child of a different race or ethnicity. Previous studies show that teaching transracially adopted youth about their birth culture is linked to higher self-esteem and a stronger sense of belongingness. However, these studies lack research about the type of preparation and training needed to prepare parents of obtaining those characteristics in their adopted child’s life.

Study Design: This study used focus groups and one-on-one interviews to gain an understanding of the types of culture training parents received during and after adoption. Parents were asked to share their perspectives on culture trainings and its impact on raising children of a different race/ethnicity. Adopted youth were asked to describe how parents framed conversations about race/ethnicity and its impact on their relationship with parents. All participants had the choice of attending a focus group or a one-on-one interview. All participants had to complete a sign-in survey to obtain non-identifying information including participants’ ages, race/ethnicity and year of adoption before beginning a focus group or interview. All focus groups and interviews were audio recorded using a digital audio recorder then transcribed by using the voice tool on Google Drive. The transcriptions were categorized according to emerging themes, using a single adjective or phrase.

Preliminary Results: Initial results show that some adoptive parents did not go through a formal cultural training program but did receive pre-adoption training which included topics of culture. Instead, parents sought support and information from books, friends, and Facebook groups. The majority of adopted youth reported that their parents had some cultural training or connection before adoption finalization. Both parents and youth suggest that being involved in a community such like a Facebook group solely for transracial adoptive parents is one of the best ways to learn about culture and the needs of raising children of a different race or ethnicity.

Preliminary Conclusion: Adopted parents suggest using “organic” methods of involving themselves in culture such like Facebook groups for transracial families and the adopted youth suggest using programs and schools that are geared towards a specific culture.”