UNRAVELING THE RED THREAD: IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT IN INTERNATIONAL, TRANSRACIAL, CHINESE ADOPTEES

Abstract

In an effort to control the population size, China enacted the One Child Policy in 1979, limiting the number of children a family could have to one. As a result, thousands of babies were abandoned and subsequently adopted abroad. International, transracial, Chinese adoptees are heavily understudied despite a large population located in the United States. Using the limited past research, I proposed The 5A Identity Model to encompass the unique racial, ethnic, and adoptive life experiences that shape a Chinese adoptee's identity development. Nine interviews were conducted to assess the validity of the five stage model. Participants were asked about their birth culture involvement, experience with racism and discrimination, and how they navigated their differences among the dominant White culture throughout their life. After data analysis, it became evident that The 5A Identity Model could not account for the individual differences among participants' life experiences. Though the proposed events occurred during each stage, the resulting identities differed for each participant based on their environment, upbringing, and emotional reaction to the events. Using this information, a new version of the model was created to better encapsulate the distinct and vast experiences of every Chinese adoptee. Now, The 5A Identity Model provides international, transracial, Chinese adoptees a framework for their identity development throughout their lives.