Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures

Parental socialisation, ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8113014
AutoresLaura Ferrari (0000-0003-2379-6227, Family Studies and Research University Centre Catholic University of Milan Milan Italy, autor de correspondencia), Sonia Ranieri (0000-0003-4914-8842, Family Studies and Research University Centre Catholic University of Milan Milan Italy), Daniela Barni (0000-0003-4146-3178, Family Studies and Research University Centre Catholic University of Milan Milan Italy), Rosa Rosnati (0000-0002-5994-1679, Family Studies and Research University Centre Catholic University of Milan Milan Italy)
Año2015
Volumen50
Número6
Páginas413-421
Fecha de publicación2015-08-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0020-7594 • E-ISSN: 1464-066X
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ijop.12195
PMID26264672
OpenAlexW1947479168
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas24

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face-to-face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self-report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self-esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self-esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self-esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation

Cultural identity · Developmental psychology · Enculturation · Ethnic group · Ethnocentrism · Feeling · Identity (music · Immigration · National identity · Self-esteem · Sociology · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology