This study delineated a microaggressions typology and corresponding intensity levels that occur to adopted adolescents. The microaggressions framework by Sue et al. was adapted to identify this adoptive microaggression typology. Interviews with 153 (males = 79, females = 74) non-Latino/a White adolescent adopted individuals in same-race families were analyzed. Thematic analysis was used to discover 16 themes: (a) Silence, (b) Overly Intrusive Questions, (c) Assumption of Bionormativity, (d) Recurring Confusion/Ignorance, (e) In-House Divisions, (f) Public “Outing,” (g) Using Adoption, (h) Questioning Authenticity, (i) Unacknowledged Identity Status, (j) Spokesperson for Adoption, (k) Adoptees as Nonnormative, (l) Sensitivity, (m) Negative Stereotypes about Birth parents, (n) Adoptees as Orphans, (o) Negative Societal Portrayal of Adoption, and (p) Other. Implications for theory and practice are provided.
BadenA. L.WileyM. O. (2007). Counseling adopted persons in adulthood: Integrating practice and research. The Counseling Psychologist, 35, 868-901. doi:10.1177/0011000006291409
2.
BakerK. K. (2008). Bionormativity and the construction of parenthood. Georgia Law Review, 42, 649-716.
3.
BoyatzisR. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
4.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
5.
BrodzinskyD. M. (1993). Long-term outcomes in adoption. Adoption, 3(1), 153-166.
6.
BrodzinskyD. M. (2011). Children’s understanding of adoption: Developmental and clinical implications. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 42, 200-207. doi:10.1037/a0022415
7.
BrodzinskyD. M.SmithD. W.BrodzinskyA. B. (1998). Children’s adjustment to adoption: Developmental and clinical issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
8.
CapodilupoC. M.NadalK. L.CormanL.HamitS.LyonsO.WeinbergA. (2010). The manifestation of gender microaggressions. In SueD. W. (Ed.), Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact (pp. 193-216). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
9.
CarpE. W. (1998). Family matters: Secrecy and disclosure in the history of adoption. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10.
EdwardsR. (2010). Religious microaggressions towards Muslims in the United States: Group identity and self-esteem as predictors of affective responses (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT.
11.
FisherA. P. (2003). Still “not quite as good as having your own”? Toward a sociology of adoption. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 335-361. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100209
12.
FlemingC. B. (2005). The open-records debate: Balancing the interests of birth parents and adult adoptees. William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law, 11, 461-480.
13.
FrableD. E.WortmanC.JosephJ. (1997). Predicting self-esteem, well-being, and distress in a cohort of gay men: The importance of cultural stigma, personal visibility, community networks, and positive identity. Journal of Personality, 65, 599-624. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00328.x
14.
GoffmanE. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
15.
GrotevantH. D.McRoyR. G.WrobelG. M.Ayers-LopezS. (2013). Contact between adoptive and birth families: Perspectives from the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project. Child Development Perspectives, 7(3), 193-198. doi:10.1111/cdep.12039
16.
HenneyS. M.McRoyR. G.Ayers-LopezS.GrotevantH. D. (2003). The impact of openness on adoption agency practices: A longitudinal perspective. Adoption Quarterly, 6(3), 31-51. doi:10.1300/J145v06n03_03
17.
HowittD.CramerD. (2008). Research methods in psychology (2nd ed.). Edinburgh Gate, UK: Pearson Education.
18.
KirkD. H. (1964). Shared fate. New York, NY: Free Press.
19.
KlineS. L.KarelA. I.ChatterjeeK. (2006). Covering adoption: General depictions in broadcast news. Family Relations, 55, 487-498. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00417.x
20.
KressiererD. K.BryantC. D. (1996). Adoption as deviance: Socially constructed parent-child kinship as a stigmatized and legally burdened relationship. Deviant Behavior, 17, 391-415. doi:10.1080/01639625.1996.9968037
21.
LandisJ. R.KochG. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159-174.
22.
MarchK. (1995). Perception of adoption as social stigma: Motivation for search and reunion. Journal of Marriage and Family, 57, 653-660.
23.
MarchK.MiallC. (2000). Adoption as a family form. Family Relations, 49, 359-362. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00359.x
24.
MertensD. M. (2010). Qualitative methods. In Research and evaluation in education and psychology (3rd ed., pp. 225-266). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
25.
MiallC. E. (1987). The stigma of adoptive parent status: Perceptions of community attitudes toward adoption and the experience of informal social sanctioning. Family Relations, 36, 34-39.
26.
MorrowS. L. (2007). Qualitative research in counseling psychology: Conceptual foundations. The Counseling Psychologist, 35, 209-235. doi:10.1177/0011000006286990
27.
NadalK. L.RiveraD. P.CorpusM. J. H. (2010). Sexual orientation and transgender microaggressions: Implications for mental health and counseling. In SueD. W. (Ed.), Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact (pp. 217-240). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
28.
NadalK. L.WongY.GriffinK.SrikenJ.VargasV.WidemanM.KolawoleA. (2011). Microaggressions and the Multiracial experience. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(7), 36-44.
29.
NohS.KasparV.WickramaK. A. S. (2007). Overt and subtle racial discrimination and mental health: Preliminary findings for Korean immigrants. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 1269-1274. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.085316
30.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
31.
SamuelsG. M. (2009). “Being raised by White people”: Navigating racial difference among adopted multiracial adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 80-94. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00581.x
32.
ShentonA. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22, 63-75.
SueD. W. (Ed.). (2010a). Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
35.
SueD. W. (Ed.). (2010b). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
36.
SueD. W.CapodilupoC. M.TorinoG. C.BucceriJ. M.HolderA. M. B.NadalK. L.EsquilinM. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62, 271-286. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271
37.
SwimJ. K.HyersL. L.CohenL. L.FergusonM. J. (2001). Everyday sexism: Evidence for its incidence, nature, and psychological impact from three daily diary studies. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 31-53. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00200
38.
SwimJ. K.HyersL. L.CohenL. L.FitzgeraldD. C.BylsmaW. H. (2003). African American college students’ experiences with everyday racism: Characteristics of and responses to these instances. Journal of Black Psychology, 29, 38-67. doi:10.1177/0095798402239228
WegarK. (1997). In search of bad mothers: Social constructions of birth and adoptive motherhood. Women’s Studies International Forum, 20, 77-86. doi:10.1016/S0277-5395(96)00097-0
41.
WegarK. (2000). Adoption, family ideology, and social stigma: Bias in community attitudes, adoption research, and practice. Family Relations, 49, 363-370. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00363.x
42.
ZamostnyK. P.O’BrienK. M.BadenA. L.WileyM. O. (2003). The practice of adoption: History trends, and social context. The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 651-678. doi:10.1177/0011000003258061
