Intercountry Transracial Special Needs Adoptees - Today's Teenagers and Young Adults: How Have They Fared? The Parents' Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parents' perception of their teenage and young adult intercountry transracial special needs adoptees. Although each part of the category has been studied in the literature, very little can be found relating to the children who make up all three parts, especially those who today are teenagers and young adults. This study was done because children from this very special category of intercountry transracial special needs adoptees continue to be adopted, yet there is little information to see how they have fared. This study was a convenience sample of fourteen sets of single and married parents who had adopted 21 children and remained in Tucson, Arizona. All families had adopted through Catholic Social Services between the years of 1980 to 1990. Parents rated their 21 adoptees on a questionnaire of 52 questions designed to answer five research questions.To assure confidentiality, Catholic Social Services mailed the questionnaire, to 23 families who had remained in the Tucson area. Fourteen families with 21 adoptees returned the surveys; an approximate sixty-one percent response. A few demographics stood out. Almost all parents were Caucasian, married 5 to 10 years, and had prior biological or adopted children in their homes when their adoptee was placed. The majority of parents were older than the average parents of biological children, and most were considered in the High Middle to High financial category at the time of placement. Most considered religion an important value. The only area parents rated as causing a serious problem at times for their child, was the child's Special Needs. Yet the majority of parents, by the Time of Survey, rated their adoptees as successful in employment, having strong identities, and being comfortable in American Society. None of the 21 adoptees had ever had an Adoption Disruption nor an Adoption Dissolution.