Mar 25, 2022 03:15 PM - 04:45 PM(America/New_York)
20220325T151520220325T1645America/New_YorkFriday Afternoon, Session A
CE Eligible Symposium
Welcome to the 10th Biennial Adoption Initiative Conference
The Evolution of Adoption Practice: Activist and Community Perspectives
Password for the Vimeo Videos: AIC2022PAID
PM Friday Session A Symposium on Racial and Adoption Microaggressions https://vimeo.com/715849228
This symposium will present four studies of microaggressions in the lives of adoptive families and include same-race and transracial adoptive parents from the U.S., with data gathered online or through interviews.
Adoptive families, especially those in visible adoptions, must navigate the gaze and often unsolicited discourse from others in their communities. Reflecting bias and implicit assumptions, others' comments can invalidate or denigrate adoptees, adoptive parents, and/or birth parents. Whether intended or unintended, these messages are known as microaggressions. Understanding the specific types of adoption microaggressions (e.g., "She's so lucky!"; "Where are her real parents?") and racial microaggressions (e.g., "Where is your daughter from?"; "I love your silky hair – can I touch it?") can enable professionals to collaborate with and support families in identifying strategies for effective management.
This symposium will present four studies of microaggressions in the lives of adoptive families and include same-race and transracial adoptive parents from the U.S., with data gathered online or through interviews.
Adoptive families, especially those in visible adoptions, must navigate the gaze and often unsolicited discourse from others in their communities. Reflecting bias and implicit assumptions, others' comments can invalidate or denigrate adoptees, adoptive parents, and/or birth parents. Whether intended or unintended, these messages are known as microaggressions. Understanding the specific types of adoption microaggressions (e.g., "She's so lucky!"; "Where are her real parents?") and racial microaggressions (e.g., "Where is your daughter from?"; "I love your silky hair – can I touch it?") can enable professionals to collaborate with and support families in identifying strategies for effective management.
Presentation 2: Racial Microaggressions Experienced by Transracial Adoptees: Do Parents Talk About Them?
Presenter: Jiayi Liu, Michigan State Univ.
Co-authors
Seungmi Lee, Tufts University
Olivia Hobert, Tufts University
Madeline Smith, Tufts University
Kaila Caffey, Tufts University
Ellen Pinderhughes, Tufts University
Presentation 3: Diverse Communities: Adoption & Racial Microaggressions Experienced by Adoptive Parents of Chinese Adoptees
Presenters:
Amanda Baden, Montclair State University
Ellen Pinderhughes, Tufts University
Ebony White, Drexel University
Elliotte Harrington, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ.
Co Author
Xian Zhang
Presentation 4: "You Have Mistaken Assumptions" How Parents' Role, Parent's Preparation for Bias, and Children's Ethnic Self-Labels Are Interrelated Among Transracial Adoptions from China
Racial and Adoption Microaggressions: Adoptive Families’ Perceptions, Management and Preparation-for-Bias with their Adopted Children Symposium03:15 PM - 04:45 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/25 19:15:00 UTC - 2022/03/25 20:45:00 UTC
Adoptive families, especially those in visible adoptions, must navigate the gaze and often unsolicited discourse from others in their communities. Reflecting bias and implicit assumptions, others' comments can invalidate or denigrate adoptees, adoptive parents, and/or birth parents. Whether intended or unintended, these messages are known as microaggressions; racial microaggressions target one because of their membership in a racial group (Sue et al., 2007), and adoption microaggressions target one as a member of the adoption triad (Baden, 2016). As adoptive families navigate racial and/or adoption microaggressions, parents face engaging in preparation-for-bias (Hughes et al., 2007) - helping their adoptee be aware of and prepare to deal with microaggressions. Researchers typically have examined the frequency of bias experiences and their impact on adoptive families; few studies have unpacked microaggressions to explore the different types. Understanding the specific types of adoption microaggressions (e.g., "She's so lucky!"; "Where are her real parents?") and racial microaggressions (e.g., "Where is your daughter from?"; "I love your silky hair – can I touch it?") that adoptive families must navigate can enable professionals to collaborate with and support families in identifying strategies for effective management. This symposium will present four studies of microaggressions in the lives of adoptive families. As a collection, the studies examine families' experiences of racial and/or adoption microaggressions, how parents navigate microaggressions, and how parents engage in preparation-for-bias with their adopted children. These studies include same-race and transracial adoptive parents from the U.S., with data gathered online or through interviews. A common thread through these papers is the use of the same typology for coding microaggression experiences: the racial microaggression typology offered by Sue and colleagues (2007) and adoption microaggression typology offered by Baden (2016) guided the development of codes that were used to categorize types of microaggressions. Discussion within and across presentations will address practice implications.
Introduction. Adoptive parents face preparing their children to navigate adoption microaggressions (AMAs) that violate family boundaries. This study examined how parents perceive and respond to experiencing four AMAs (i.e., Lucky, Destiny, "Deficient" Birth Parents, Search; Baden, 2016). Families in visible adoptions are more vulnerable to experiencing AMAs. Hence, discrepancies in parents' perceptions and responses between transracial adoptive (TRA) families and same-race (SRA) families were examined. Method. 104 U.S. adoptive parents (90% White) completed a survey about AMA experiences. AMAs reflected the following: Lucky-child should be lucky they are adopted; Destiny–the adoptee-family match was destiny; "Deficient" Birth Parents (DBP)–denigrating birth parents; Search-parents should worry adoptee wants to search for birth family. Using a multiple-choice format, parents endorsed thoughts about AMAs. Open-ended responses reflecting parents' perceptions, preparation-for-bias actions/roles were coded using a coding manual (Pinderhughes et al., 2013). Results. AMAs Lucky (62%) and Destiny (47%) were experienced the most. Fewer parents experienced Search (43%); DBP (23%) was least experienced. Most parents thought Lucky (52%) and DBP (83%), were intrusive and disrespectful. Forty percent of parents agreed with Destiny, whereas another 40% viewed it as unfair. Search was viewed as an opportunity to share about birth family contact circumstances. More TRA than SRA parents took preparation-for-bias actions (ranges: 54%-90% vs. 20%-50%). Parents educated and validated children's experiences. Very few parents helped their child develop strategies (3%-5%). Parents mostly took an educating (27%-41%) or empowering role (19%-64%); very few parents took a protecting role (0%-2%). Conclusion: Often holding negative perceptions of AMAs, parents addressed these messages by educating or validating adoptees. During an AMA situation, often with others present, parents had to explicitly address the violation of family boundaries by communicating with the adoptee. Implications will be discussed, including educating adoptive families to support their children to develop specific strategies to manage AMAs.
Racial Microaggressions Experienced by Transracial Adoptees: Do Parents Talk About Them? Symposium03:15 PM - 04:45 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/25 19:15:00 UTC - 2022/03/25 20:45:00 UTC
Introduction. Transracial adoptive (TRA) families containing white parents and adoptees of color encounter racial microaggressions (RMAs) as biological families of color do. However, the specific RMA situations that TRA youths experience and how these RMA experiences vary based on youth race are under-investigated. Biological families of color often engage in preparation-for-bias processes, but little is known about whether TRA families give preparation-for-bias messages to their adoptees. Guided by the transactional system theory of ethnic-racial socialization (Pinderhughes et al., 2020), we examined (1) what RMAs TRA youths experienced, (2) whether/how often parents talked to their TRA youths about the RMAs, and (3) what factors moderated the relation between RMA experiences and rate of preparation-for-bias talks. We also explored variation in RMA and preparation-for-bias experiences based on youth race. Method. Fifty-two TRA parents in the U.S. responded to a survey about nine RMAs (i.e., Teasing, Not Smart, Exclusion, Loud and Impulsive, Too Shy, Low Expectation, Suspicious Authorities, Unconsented Touching, Employee Follows situations); 49 parents answered the preparation-for-bias questions. Results. Preliminary results showed that TRA families experienced 3.69 RMAs on average (SD = 2.36). Black and Latine youths experienced significantly more RMAs than Asian youths. The most frequently experienced RMAs were: Exclusion (67%) and Teasing (55%). Among the 46 parents, 72% talked to the adoptee about all RMAs they experienced; 98% talked about at least one RMA. On average, parents talked to their adoptee about 83.1% of RMAs (SD = .30). Parents with Asian youths talked more than those with Black and Latine youths, but the difference was non-significant. Linear regression results showed no significant moderation by parent's perception of racial difference or having TRA sibling. Conclusion. The findings highlighted the prevalence of RMAs experienced by TRA youths and showed evidence of parents' preparation-for-bias attempts. Implications for research and practice will be discussed.
Presenters Jiayi Liu Presenter, Michigan State University Co-Authors Seungmi Lee Student, Tufts UniversityOlivia Hobert Presenter, Tufts University
Diverse Communities: Adoption and Racial Microaggressions Experienced by Adoptive Parents of Chinese Adoptees Symposium03:15 PM - 04:45 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/25 19:15:00 UTC - 2022/03/25 20:45:00 UTC
In this mixed-methods study, we explored the race-based and adoption-based bias incidents as examples of microaggressions that White transracial adoptive parents (TRA parents) of children adopted from China perceived as having been experienced. We also studied the link among the degree of community racial diversity (e.g., racial-ethnic proportions of communities), frequency of microaggressions, and types of microaggressions reported by White TRA parents of Chinese adoptees. Moreover, colorblindness, or the belief that race does not and should not matter, is a dominant perspective among many White adoptive parents who may "deracialize" RMAs, yet a portion of White TRA parents may also practice race consciousness, or the recognition that race "permeates personal and public life and does so in ways that privilege Whiteness" to varying degrees (Goar et al., 2017, pp. 340-341; Quiroz, 2007). This study serves as an important step toward better understanding how neighborhood diversity may be related to the experiences of AMAs and RMAs perceived by White TRA parents who adopted children from China. We coded the types and community prevalence of racial microaggressions (RMAs) and adoption microaggressions (AMAs) experienced and reported by White adoptive families with children adopted from China. Analyses included consideration of community diversity's relationship to the microaggressions reported given that most transracial adoptive families live in predominantly White neighborhoods. We found that all families experienced RMAs and/or AMAs. Community diversity was only related to the number of RMAs experienced, and specific microaggressions were significantly related to diversity level. Parents' interpretation of microaggressions differed based on diversity level. Implications for supporting adoptive families will be discussed.
Presenters Ebony White Presenter, Drexel UniversityEllen Pinderhughes Presenter, Tufts UniversityElliotte Harrington Presenter, Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityAmanda Baden Presenter, Conference Co-Chair, Professor, Montclair State University Co-Authors
“You Have Mistaken Assumptions”: How Parents’ Role, Parent’s Preparation for Bias, and Children’s Ethnic Self-Labels Are Interrelated Among Transracial Adoptions from China Symposium03:15 PM - 04:45 PM (America/New_York) 2022/03/25 19:15:00 UTC - 2022/03/25 20:45:00 UTC
Introduction. Transracially-adopted (TRA) children from China often turn to their White parents for comfort when facing microaggressions (MAs). While some parents offer their children support or validation of their feelings, others may be unable to find the right words to say, and thus offer no form of support. Consequently, TRA children may feel that their reactions towards MAs are inappropriate and their confidence in their ethnicity may decrease (Docan-Morgan, 2011; Mohanty & Newhill, 2011). Researchers (e.g., Bebiroglu & Pinderhughes, 2012; Berbery & O'Brien, 2011; Dolan, 2015) have found that the amount of ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) parents provide their children is related to adoptees' ethnic identity and adoption status. Most studies examine one aspect of ERS, cultural socialization (CS), while very few study the impact of Preparation-for-Bias (PfB) (Hughes et al., 2006) on TRA children's views of their ethnic identity. The transactional system theory of ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) developed by Pinderhughes et al. (2021) proposes that various factors involved in ERS impact the relationship between TRA children and their parents. Drawing from this model, I examined (1) the nature of specific PfB messages, (2) the link between parents' role variables (family acknowledgment of differences [high, low], family ethnic identity[broadening, inclusive, mono-American]), and PfB messages, and (3) the link between PfB messages and children's ethnic self-label [bi-ethnic Chinese, mono-American]. Method. 44 TRA parents and 42 TRA children were interviewed separately by researchers about their experiences being in a transracial adoptive family. Parent and child interviews covered topics of race, ethnicity, community-based experiences, engagement in ERS, and community diversity. Interviews were transcribed and coded. Analyses. After descriptive analyses, I am testing hypotheses with nonparametric tests of group differences, since I am examining relations between both categorical and dimensional variables. Findings will be reported with implications for supporting TRA families.
Ellen Pinderhughes
Seungmi Lee
Jiayi Liu
Olivia Hobert
Ebony White
Elliotte Harrington
Amanda Baden
