Transracial Adoption: How It Is 17 Years Later. Family Life Project: A Longitudinal Adoption Study/Phase V.

In 1970, as part of an effort to meet the needs of black children waiting for adoption by two-parent black families, the Chicago (Illinois) Child Care Society launched a longitudinal study of the growth, development, and family life of transracial adoptees (TRAs), or black and mixed-race children adopted by white families, and inracial adoptees (IRAs), or black and mixed-race children adopted by black families. This document reports the results of interviews with 35 TRAs and 20 IRAs and their parents when the children were 17 years old. It was found that: (1) the rate and type of adoptees' developmental problems were similar to those found in the general population; (2) the majority of adoptees had good self-esteem; (3) among IRAs, 83 percent said they were black, and among TRAs, 33 percent said they were black and 55 percent said they were of mixed race; (4) among TRAs, 73 percent lived in primarily white neighborhoods, while 55 percent of IRAs lived in primarily black neighborhoods; (5) TRAs had primarily white friends and IRAs had primarily black friends; (6) TRA females were more likely than TRA males to date blacks; (7) almost all TRAs knew of their adoption before they were 4 years old, while 80 percent of IRAs learned about their adoption after they were 4; and (8) a total of 83 percent of TRAs and 53 percent of IRAs expressed interest in meeting their biological parents. A list of 58 references is provided. (BC)