Racial Identity Development of White Parents of Transracial Adoptees: A Narrative Approach

• Main Author: Sass, Theresa L.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Boston College 2014
• Subjects: transracial adoption; white racial identity
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/3679

Thesis advisor: Pratyusha Tummala-Narra === The purpose of this research is to learn about the racial identity development of White transracially adoptive parents through narratives about their adoption and parenting experiences. White racial identity development has rarely been explored within the context of transracial adoption, and existing research on transracial adoption tends to focus on the experiences of the adoptees. The present research attempts to address the need for more literature in psychology and other social sciences on the experiences of White parents adopting transracially. This research uses qualitative methodology, specifically narrative inquiry and conventional content analysis, to gather data from participants' (N=12) personal stories about their racial identity. This approach is inductive, naturalistic, and exploratory, focusing on participants' meaning making rather than causation, and fitting for an under-researched subject area (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005; Riessman, 2003). Narratives encourage the participants to talk about uncomfortable issues, which is critical, because literature indicates that White people experience discomfort when talking about their race (Altman, 2006; Foldy, 2005). As theoretical frameworks, White racial identity theory (Helms, 1990; 1995) and critical race theory help describe how parents cope with racial issues and racism from a psychosocial perspective. Issues examined include how institutional and cultural racism affects parents' experiences before and after parenting, what historical, social, and personal factors influence the parents' cognitive, affective and behavioral responses to racial stimuli, and how transformations take place in the racial identity development of the participants. Findings demonstrate that for the majority of participants, transracial adoption was a catalyst for increased awareness of White racial privilege and racism, and therefore for participants' racial identity development. This research contributes to theory, research, and practice. Participants' stories provide an understanding of the complex nature of racial identity development, and offer insight about how to better support transracially adoptive parents and their families. Implications for research, practice, and policy are discussed. === Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. === Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. === Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.