A Systematic Review of Empirical Research on Transracial Adoption in South Africa

Transracial adoption is a relatively new and controversial practice in South Africa. We undertook a systematic review of empirical research by adhering to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guideline. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on research, both peer-reviewed and unpublished academic work, between January 1991 and April 2021. We report on the scientific nature, rigour, quality and scope of studies of the items found and outline the themes which emerge from the empirical research. These include attitudes towards transracial adoption, the experiences of adoptive parents and transracial adoptees as well as recommendations for practice. Different theoretical paradigms, variable methodology, small sample sizes of poorly defined target groups impact negatively on comparability and generalisability of results. This research fails to engage with the specificities that might impact on successful outcomes for transracially adopted families and guide professional practice including post-adoption support. Developing this research field will require large-scale studies on the outcomes for transracial adoptees and adoptive families, and research using the comparable methodology and theoretical frameworks. Such research can guide local policies and practices in South Africa and will enhance the international research into transracial adoption.

“In My Heart, I Am Cambodian”: Symbolic Ethnicity among Parents Who Adopt Transracially

Research finds that white Americans primarily draw upon ancestral ties to assert symbolic ethnicity, often relying on figurative elements to create identity. Through 47 interviews with 56 white adoptive parents, who attend culture camps, the authors find a new avenue through which whites may exercise their ethnic options: domestic and transnational transracial adoption. Drawing on their experience of parenting transracially adopted children, we find that some adoptive parents claim identification as members of their adopted children’s racial and/or ethnic group. In explaining their newly acquired ethnicity, we identify three discursive strategies deployed by adoptive parents—cultural integration, transformative inclusion, and racial diffusion. While adoption of their child’s racial and/or ethnic group identification may seem unexpected, it allows for the reframing of parents’ identity, creates notions of shared racial experience, and deepens commitment to symbolic elements. These findings have implications for contemporary understandings of white Americans’ symbolic ethnicity.

Reframing Adoptee Narratives

Very public transnational, transracial adoptions by celebrities and the inclusion of transnational, transracial adoption in prime-time television sitcoms make this form of family making increasingly visible. Yet the majority of representations privilege the adoptive parent’s point of view. Drawing on two recent Korean-adoptee-created media, the Netflix documentary Twinsters (2015) and NBC Asian America’s docuseries akaSEOUL (2016), this chapter examines how adoptee-centered media converge with and diverge from traditional renderings of transnational adoption. In doing so, these media provide not only new portrayals of transnational, transracial adoptees but also new conceptions of Asian and Korean American racial, ethnic, and familial identities.

Transracial Adoption

Historically, transracial adoption has been controversial in the United States. Even with legislation supporting the adoption of children who are not the same race or ethnicity as their parents, debate has continued about the well-being and racial socialization of transracially adopted children. Transracial adoptions comprise close to half of adoptions in the United States and most frequently involve White parents raising children of color. This chapter reviews what is known from the social sciences about family dynamics and child outcomes among transracial adoptive families in the United States. It also highlights pivotal court cases in custody battles related to transracial adoption, including recent controversy surrounding the Indian Child Welfare Act (1978). An intersectionality framework is used to represent diversity among transracial adoptive families, including those with sexual minority parents and formed through different pathways (i.e., international, private domestic, public child welfare). Finally, the chapter discusses evidence-based recommendations informing relevant laws and policies.

Identity lost and found: Lessons from the sixties scoop

The “Sixties Scoop” describes a period in Aboriginal history in Canada in which thousands of Aboriginal children were removed from birth families and placed in non-Aboriginal environments. Despite literature that indicates adoption breakdown rates of 85-95%, recent research with adults adopted as children indicates that some adoptees have found solace through reacculturating to their birth culture and contextualizing their adoptions within colonial history. This article explores the history of Aboriginal adoption in Canada and examines some of the issues of transracial adoption through the lens of psychology theories to aid understanding of identity conflicts facing Aboriginal adoptees. The article concludes with recommendations towards a paradigm shift in adoption policy as it pertains to Aboriginal children.