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In this constructivist grounded theory study, 12 White mental health counselors committed to antiracism were interviewed to explore their professional identity development. The emergent theoretical model of antiracist counseling identity development is a multifaceted lifelong developmental process that manifests through personal and professional experiences and is enacted within antiracist actions.

Birth parents are the most stigmatized and least researched part of the adoption triad and they experience microaggressions from a number of sources. With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, birth parents' needs and stories deserve to be elevated. Using the adoption microaggressions framework, this qualitative study examined birth parents' lived experiences and the microaggressions they have heard and internalized. Microaggressions specific to birth parents and the adoption process were identified. The most frequently occurring microaggressions against birth parents included: Shameful Inadequate, Institutional Microaggressions, and Phantom Birth Parents. Implications for counseling and training are provided for working with members of the adoption triad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored racial microaggressions (RMAs) and adoption microaggressions (AMAs) experienced and committed by white adoptive parents of transracial adoptees. Two research questions guided this inquiry: (a) What types of RMAs and AMAs do white adoptive parents of children adopted from China experience and commit? and (b) how is white adoptive parental awareness of race and adoption related to their committing of microaggressions? Based on qualitative coding of interviews conducted with 39 white adoptive parents of Chinese adoptees, the most frequently coded AMA was Biology is Best for experienced AMAs and Phantom Birth Parents for committed AMAs. Alien in Own Land was the most experienced RMA, and Color Evasiveness was the most committed RMA. Parents tended to have high awareness of the AMAs (87%) and RMAs (89%) they experienced from others, yet this awareness did not preclude them from committing RMAs and AMAs within their transracially adoptive family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collective findings of the six articles in this special issue highlight the importance of ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic identity among international transracial adoptees (ITRAs). A multidimensional developmental phenomenon, ethnic identity intersects with other identities, notably adoptive identity. Family, peers, community, and host culture are important socialization contexts that engage transracial adoptees in transactional processes that promote ethnic identity development. New directions in research were identified, including developmental processes in navigating ethnic and other identities, similarities and differences in ethnic identity between ITRAs and immigrants, the effectiveness of interventions targeting ethnic identity in ITRAs, and the impact of discrimination on ethnic identity construction and the role of social and national contexts. Implications for policies and practices were discussed, such as pre- and postadoption supports for adoptees and parents that provide developmentally appropriate support for positive ethnic identity; training for professionals working with ITRAs and their families; and intercountry practices that promote connection with cultures of origin. Lessons about ITRAs and their ethnic identity in transaction with multiple social contexts enhance understanding of how all individuals navigate multiple identities.

This study explores the impact of racial-ethnic socialization on adopted South Korean children and adolescents who attended a sleepaway Korean culture camp for one week. This camp provided racial-ethnic socialization experiences via exposure to camp counselors, staff, and teachers who were Korean Americans, Korean nationals, and Korean adult adoptees, and exposure to cultural activities and discussions. Using a pretest-posttest design to control for the lack of a comparison group (McCall & Green, [McCall, R. B., 2004]), 75 Korean adoptee children and adolescents (mean age = 12.96) completed both the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) surveys at pretest and posttest, and completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) at posttest. Results indicated that adoptees reported lower levels of depression at the end of camp than at the beginning of camp, but little variance could be attributed to ethnic identity at posttest. The results of this study suggest that scholars investigate the possibility that adoptee culture camps may provide an adoption socialization experience that may be more salient for adoptees than the racial-ethnic socialization that was intended. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The cultural experiences of transracial and international adoptees (TRIAs) are uniquely affected by their adoption across cultures and racial/ethnic groups. Upon adoption, TRIAs typically identify quickly with their adoptive parents' White culture but may eventually seek to reclaim their birth culture. Current terminology used to describe cultural identifications and changes (e.g., acculturation, enculturation) does not adequately depict the reclamation of birth culture by TRIAs. The authors describe a new term for this process called "reculturation". (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

This article presents an overview of the practice of adoption to counseling psychologists to promote clinical understanding of the adoption experience and to stimulate research on adoption. The article includes definitions of adoption terminology, important historical and legal developments for adoption, a summary of adoption statistics, conceptualizations of adoption experience, themes and trends in adoption outcome research related to adoptees and birthparents, and selected theoretical models of adoption. The importance of considering social context variables in adoption practice and research is emphasized.

In this study using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, 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 examined differences in microaggressions reported by transracial adoptive families living in communities varying in racial-ethnic diversity. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Reunification or post-adoption contact between adoptees, birth families, and other adoption stakeholders has become a normalized developmental trajectory, yet the process of seeking contact after adoption placement varies greatly depending on numerous factors including access to original birth certificates, openness of the adoption, and systemic and institutional challenges that may aid or hinder contact. In this study, 101 post-adoption search facilitators responded to an online survey comprised of scale items and open-ended responses. Findings: Respondents reported that most had no formal education or training to prepare them to assist with searches, they were primarily self-taught and utilized workshops and conferences as a secondary source of preparation, and only about one-quarter required counseling as part of the search process. Findings also indicated that formal education was rated as not helpful and office training (for those who had it) as neutral in its helpfulness. The primary theme identified in the data was that search facilitators must recognize emotions, particularly the grief and loss, associated with the search process to be effective. Applications: Social work educators can prepare social work practitioners to effectively assist with post-adoption searches and reunions for adoptees and first/birth parents. Best practice will include training social workers to anticipate both the logistical and emotional needs of searchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopted adolescents create identity narratives conceptualizing their connections to their families of adoption and birth. Previous work with a sample of adoptive adolescents identified a sub‐group who reported negative experiences regarding adoption as part of their navigating of adoptive identity processes (the “Unsettled” group). The current study examined interviews with adolescents in the “Unsettled” group to elucidate these negative experiences, specifically through identifying the relationship challenges linked to adoption. Participants included 30 adopted adolescents (18 females, 12 males) from a longitudinal study of adoptive families. All the adolescents (M age = 15.2 years) were domestically adopted in infancy by heterosexual couples who were the same race as the adolescents (29 White, 1 Mexican American). Thematic analysis revealed six themes reflecting adolescents' relationship challenges as related to adoption, both in terms of interpersonal interactions and how relational experiences influenced adolescents' thoughts and feelings of past, present, and future selves: (a) Negative experiences in relationships with adoptive family members, (b) Negative experiences in relationships with birth family members, (c) Difficulties in the adoptive kinship network, (d) Negative thoughts and feelings toward the self as an adopted person, (e) Negative views toward adoption as a form of building a family, and (f) Negative connections between adoption and future relationships. Multiple subthemes were also identified that built upon topics within the adoption and family systems literature, such as communication among family members, navigation of birth family contact, and adopted adolescents' perceptions of loss. Also identified were four profiles across themes. Implications for mental health providers and adoption professionals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myths, fairy tales, films, books, and everyday communication contain images and stories of orphans and adoptees that convey societal discomfort and judgment about adoption (i.e., adoption stigma). In this article, I apply the microaggression model to adoption-related experiences using the literature and theory on adoption stigma. Definitions for adoption-related microaggressions (microassaults, microinvalidations, and microinsults) and a fourth type of microaggression called microfictions (i.e., shared and hidden narratives that contribute to and define the secrecy in adoption) are introduced. Thirteen themes for adoption microaggressions and examples for each are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]