The Hidden Experience of Transracial Adoption: A Proposed Qualitative Study
Date of Award
Summer 8-22-2015
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Jenny Cornish
Second Advisor
Lavita Nadkarni
Third Advisor
Diane Guerra
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Transracial adoption, Adoption, India, Autoethnography
Abstract
My adoptive mother, a single, White women living in the Midwestern U.S., told me a similar narrative again and again, and with each repetition, I learned more. With retelling, I came to understand that my birth story was a reflection of life in Calcutta, where young girls born into India's lowest caste, known as the Untouchables, were forced to prostitute their bodies to support their families. While this story was difficult for me to absorb, it was also important for me to hear. I needed to understand how I came into the world, to understand my own beginning. As an adoptee, I did not have the identifiable markers to hold onto that biological children often take for granted, such a hospital bracelet, a baby's first blanket, or even an exact time of birth. My adopting mother ensured that at least I had a story, and no one could take that away from me. This personal experience has helped me to understand how imperative it is that adoptive parents disclose their child's birth narrative. Unlike other forms of adoption, transracial adoption involves visible ethnic and racial differences. Therefore, questions regarding cultural origins are inevitable, both from the perspective of the transracial adoptee, as well as from those outside the family system.
Copyright Date
7-7-2015
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.
Rights Holder
Lauren Dent
Provenance
Received from Author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
38 pgs
File Size
10.5 MB
Recommended Citation
Dent, Lauren, "The Hidden Experience of Transracial Adoption: A Proposed Qualitative Study" (2015). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 4.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/4