Conceptualization and measurement of birth family thoughts for adolescents and adults adopted transnationally.

For adopted individuals, understanding the role of birth family is an important part of developing a coherent life narrative. However, there is limited empirical research on this aspect of the adoption experience. We introduce a new construct, that captures a sense of curiosity about birth family, and describe the development of an accompanying brief self-report measure, the Birth Family Thoughts Scale (BFTS).

Pathways to ethnic-racial identity development and psychological adjustment: The differential associations of cultural socialization by parents and peers.

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is a central developmental process for youth of color. Although a great deal of research establishes the importance of cultural socialization by parents to the development of ERI, limited empirical work has examined peers' role in these processes. This study uses 4 cross-sectional data sets ( = 127, 312, 257, and 238, mean age = 17.

Ethnic socialization and ethnic identity development among internationally adopted Korean American adolescents: A seven-year follow-up.

The relationship between ethnic socialization by parents, peers, and ethnic identity development was examined over a 7-year time span in a sample of 116 internationally adopted Korean American adolescents. Parent report data was collected in 2007 (Time 1 [T1]) when the adopted child was between 7 and 13 years old and again in 2014 at ages 13 to 20 years old (Time 2 [T2]). Adolescent report data also was collected in 2014.

Ethnic Identity as a Moderator against Discrimination for Transracially and Transnationally Adopted Korean American Adolescents.

Despite the growing practice of international adoption over the past 60 years, the racial and ethnic experiences of adopted youth are not well known. This study examined the moderating role of ethnic identity in the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and adjustment among transracially, transnationally adopted Korean American adolescents ( = 136). Building on self-categorization theory and past empirical research on Asian Americans, it was hypothesized that ethnic identity would exacerbate negative outcomes associated with discrimination.

Cultural differences in daily support experiences.

Previous research has suggested that Asian Americans (AAs) are less likely to mobilize social support, and find support to be less helpful, when compared with European Americans (EAs). In a 10-day daily diary study of AA and EA college students, we hypothesized that AAs would activate support less frequently than EAs for both stressful and positive events, a cultural difference that would be mediated by group harmony values. We also predicted that AAs would find support to be less helpful, and we explored differences in the sources of support used.