A number of studies have been conducted concerning the adoption of African American children by White families, challenging the opposition by African American professionals. The consensus of the findings has been that African American children have not been psychologically harmed by these placements. When proponents of transracial adoption have referred to studies, they have uncritically accepted conclusions supporting transracial adoptions without commenting upon the soundness of the researchers' methodology and the extent to which the conclusions were consistent with the limitations in the studies. The authors critically evaluate the empirical literature and discuss suggestions and strategies for African American professionals.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adamec, C.
, & Pierce, W. L. (1991). The encyclopedia of adoption. New York: Facts on File.
2.
Aigner, H.
(1986). Adoption in America coming of age. Greenbrae, CA: Paradigm.
3.
Bagley, C.
(1993). Transracial adoption in Britain: Afollow-up study with policy consideration. Child Welfare, 72, 285-299.
4.
Barth, R. P.
, Berry, M., Yoshikami, R., Goodfield, R. K., & Carlson, M. L. (1988). Predicting adoption disruption. Social Work, 33, 227-233.
5.
Bartholet, E.
(1991). Where do Black childrenbelong? Ihepolitics of race matching in adoption. University ofPennsylvania Law Review, 139,1163-1256.
6.
Bartholet, E.
(1993). Family bonds: Adoption and the politics of parenting. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
7.
Brenner, E. M. (1993). Identity formation in the transracially-adopted adolescent (Ph.D. dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology). Dissertation Abstracts International, 15, 3871-3871.
8.
Davis, R.
(1995, April 13). Suits back interracial adoptions: Minority kids wait longer, groups say. USA Today, p. 3A-3A.
9.
Day, D.
(1979). The adoption of Black children. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
10.
Feigelman, W.
, & Silverman, A. R. (1984). The long-term effects of transracial adoption. Social Service Review, 58, 589-602.
11.
Grow, L. J.
, & Shapiro, D. (1974). Black children, White parents: A study oftransracial adoption. New York: Child Welfare League of America.
12.
Hayes, P.
(1993). Transracial adoption: Politics and ideology. Child Welfare, 72, 301-310.
13.
Helwig, A. A.
, & Ruthven, D. H. (1990). Psychological ramifications of adoption and implications for counseling. Joumal of Mental Health Counseling, 12, 24-37.
14.
Hermann, V. P.
(1993). Transracial adoption: Child-saving or child-snatching. National Black Law Journal, 13,147-164.
15.
Hill, R. B.
(1977). Informal adoption among Blackfamilies. Washington, DC: National Urban League.
16.
Howard, M.
(1984). Transracial adoption: Analysis of the best interests standard. Notre Dame Law Review, 59, 503-555.
17.
Johnson, P.
, Shireman, J., & Watson, K. (1987). Transracial adoption and the development of Black identity at age eight. Child Welfare, 66, 45-56.
18.
McLaughin v. Pernsley, 693 F. Supp. 318 (E.D. Pa. 1988).
19.
McRoy, R. G.
(1995, June 5). Questions: Should Congress facilitate transracial adoptions; No: Lower barriers to Black adoptive families. Washington Times, p. 19-19.
20.
McRoy, R. G.
, Zurcher, L. A., Lauderdale, M. L., & Anderson, R. N. (1982). Self-esteem and racial identity in transracial adoption. Social Work, 27, 522-526.
21.
Moore, E.G.J.
(1986). Family socialization and the IQ test performance of traditionally and transracially adopted Black children. Developmental Psychology, 22, 317-326.
22.
National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW)
. (1992, Fall). National Association of Black Social Workers [Newsletter]. Detroit, MI.
23.
Rabin, R.
(1995, July 10). Can Black children raised by White parents develop a positive sense of self and a strong racial identity?Newsday, p. B04-B04.
24.
Reisman v. State Dept. of Human Servs., 843 F. Supp. 356 (W.D. Tenn., 1993).
25.
Rosenthal, J. A.
, Groze, V., & Curiel, H. (1990). Race, social class, and special needs adoption. Social Work, 35,532-539.
26.
Rubin, A.
, &Babbie, E. (1993). Research methodsforsocial work (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
27.
Scarr, S.
, & Weinberg, R. A. (1976). IQ test performance of Black children adopted by White families. American Psychology, 31, 726-739.
28.
Shireman, J. F.
, & Johnson, P. R. (1986). Alongitudinal study of Black adoptions: Single parent, transracial, and traditional. Social Work, 31, 172-176.
29.
Silverman, A. R.
(1993). Outcomes of transracial adoption. The Future of Children, 3, 104-118.
30.
Silverman, A. R.
, & Feigelman, W. (1981a). The adjustment of Black children adopted by White families. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Toronto, Ontario.
31.
Silverman, A. R.
, & Feigelman, W. (1981b). The adjustment of Black children adopted by White families. Social Casework, 62, 529-536.
32.
Simon, R. J.
, & Altstein, H. (1981). Transracial adoption: Afollow-up. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
33.
Simon, R. J.
, & Altstein, H. (1987). Transracial adoptees and theirfamilies: A study of identity and commitment. New York: Praeger.
34.
Simon, R. J.
, & Altstein, H. (1992). Adoption, race, and identity: From infancy through adolescence. New York: Praeger.
35.
Simon, R. J.
, Altstein, H., & Melli, M. S. (1994). The case for transracial adoption. Washington, DC: American University Press.
36.
Weinberg, R. A.
, Scarr, S., & Waldman, I. D. (1992). The Minnesota transracial adoption study: A follow-up IQ test performance at adolescence. Intelligence, 16, 117-135.
37.
Winston, J. A.
(1987). Fulfilling Brown's promise: The second generation fight for educational opportunity. Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Committee Report, 1(3) 1-1, 18-19.
