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Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Experimental Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

McLean, Kate C.

Second Advisor

Bell, Angela C.

Third Advisor

Scollon, Christie Napa

Abstract

The One Child policy created a large group of transracial Chinese adoptees in the U.S. who are currently in emerging adulthood, a context in which ethnic racial identity (ERI) development is particularly salient (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). However, ERI development may be a relatively more effortful task for transracial adoptees as cultural socialization, or the process by which parents transmit knowledge about race and culture to their children, is not inherent for transracial adoptive parents (Lee et al., 2006). Research on cultural socialization is almost exclusively focused on parents as agents of socialization (Hughes et al., 2006), though there is increasing empirical evidence centered around the role of peers as a source of cultural socialization (Azmitzia et al., 2008; Hu et al., 2017; Nelson et al., 2018; Syed, 2012). The present study sought to characterize the roles of socialization agents in the cultural socialization of transracial Chinese adoptees, and identify associations between these experiences of socialization and adoptees’ ERI development. Participants were recruited from adoptee organizations and completed an online survey. Results revealed that adoptees perceive parents to engage in more ethnic socialization and promotion of mistrust, and peers to engage in more preparation for bias. Stronger associations were also identified in the relationships between peer ethnic socialization and preparation for bias and ERI development in comparison to parents. These findings confirm the role of parents in the cultural socialization of Chinese adoptees and provide new evidence supporting the importance of peer cultural socialization for adoptees’ ERI development.

Type

Text

Keywords

Chinese, Transracial adoption, Ethnic racial identity, Cultural Socialization, Parents, Peers

DOI

DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/ETBR8

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1523220619

Subject – LCSH

Interracial adoption--Social aspects--United States; Adoptees--Social aspects--United States; Chinese Americans--Race identity--United States; Chinese Americans--Ethnic identity; Chinese Americans--Socialization--United States; Parent and child--Social aspects--United States; Peer teaching--Social aspects--United States

Geographic Coverage

United States

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

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