This is Us: Social Connectedness Among African American Interracial Adoptees

Abstract

Abstract: Some proponents of interracial adoption—the adoption of a child by at least one parent of a different race—assert that the adoption of Black children by White parents constitutes evidence of racial progress in a formerly segregated nation. In contrast, critics of interracial adoption warn of difficulties with racial identity formation, racial isolation, and increased experiences with racism for interracial adoptees. In the middle of this debate are Black interracial adoptees (BIAs) themselves. Yet, little is known about how BIAs describe their experiences in adulthood and how the sense of connectedness they feel toward their peers, family members, and community shapes and has shaped their sense of belonging. To address the unique experiences of Black interracial adoptees, this study explores how young adult BIAs conceptualize social connectedness as it relates to their experiences as interracial adoptees, including how their childhood experiences influenced their perspectives on social connectedness and how they conceptualize social connectedness as adults. Drawing on connectedness theory (e.g., Geist, 2008; Kohut, 1971, 1984) and adapting the Lee and Robbins (1995) social connectedness scale, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 BIAs aged 25-45 using a purposive homogeneous sample that was generated using the snowball method. In their interviews, participants indicated that their experiences with their adoptive families, Black people, and community influence and continue to influence their sense of connectedness, both in childhood and adulthood. Interviewees also highlighted experiences with religion and racism within their adoptive families; in particular, in adulthood, their sense of social connectedness was enhanced by finding community in religious spaces and friend/partnered relationships. Most frequently, adoption research focuses on the trauma adoptees experience in childhood (Brodzinsky,1992). Yet, in this study, BIAs framed the development of their connectedness as an aggregate of their overall life experiences, noting that both their childhood and adulthood experiences inform their present sense of connectedness. As a result, the overall findings from the study support the need to expand research in the area of adoption, including the study of adult adoptees and an understanding of their experiences throughout their life-course. ?