Cultural Socialization in Families With Adopted Korean Adolescents: A Mixed-Method, Multi-informant Study. (January 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Oh Myo; Reichwald, Reed; Lee, Richard
• Is Part Of: Journal of adolescent research. Volume 28:Number 1(2013)
• Page Start: 69
• Page End: 95
• Publication Date: 2013-01
• Subjects: Asians/Asian Americans -- ethnic issues -- family relationships -- identity issues -- parenting; Youth -- Periodicals; Adolescence -- Periodicals; 305.235
• DOI: 10.1177/0743558411432636
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0743-5584

Abstract

Transracial, transnational families understand and transmit cultural socialization messages in ways that differ from same-race families. This study explores the ways in which transracial, transnational adoptive families discuss race and ethnicity and how these family discussions compare to self-reports from adoptive parents and adolescents regarding the level of parental engagement in cultural socialization. Of the 30 families with at least one adolescent-aged child (60% of the participants were female; average age across the sample was 17.8 years) who was adopted from South Korea, 9 families acknowledge racial and ethnic differences, 6 reject racial and ethnic differences, and 15 hold a discrepancy of views. Parents also report significantly greater engagement in cultural socialization compared to that revealed in adolescents' reports of parental engagement. However, only adolescent self-reports of parental engagement in cultural socialization match the qualitative coding of family conversations.