Children of 'a dream come true': Identities of children adopted from China

This empirical study was designed to explore the identity work of children who were adopted from China by American parent(s). The purposes of this study were to investigate how these children construct their identities as intercountry adoptees in the US, and to describe the subtle interaction of home and school cultures regarding these children's identity formation.; The identity of recent international adoptees is an under studied area, particularly these Chinese adoptees. The researcher followed 13 families who were affiliated with the Families with Children from China (FCC) in the Midwest over the course of 16 months in 2003 and 2004. The adult participants were between 36 and 59 years old; most of them were European Americans. The child participants were between 11 months and 13 years old, including biological and adoptive children in the families. Their post adoption experiences, family life, schooling, community, and FCC activities were studied to understand many of the core adoption issues in cultural identity; abandonment, schooling, racism, gender role, and community connections.; The findings provided an understanding of the contextual reality these children lived. Children's identity was multifaceted and fluid. Children in this study demonstrated great resilience and agency (Holland, 1998) as they actively negotiated their identities at home, at school, in FCC and their immediate communities. The researcher suggested the importance of public rituals to facilitate children's Chinese identity development. In addition, the study also provided some up to date and useful information and understandings of Chinese adoptees identity formation for the concerned families, schools, and adoption professionals in international adoption communities.