Exploring Occupational Identity and Cultural Belongingness of Chinese Transracial Intercountry Adoptees: A Qualitative Study

Authors

Kenzie Butts, University of St. Augustine for Health SciencesFollow
Karen Park, University of St. Augustine for Health SciencesFollow

Files

Description

Chinese transracial intercountry adoptees may experience discrimination, microaggressions, and stereotyping by not feeling like they fit in with White American or traditional Chinese cultures due to an upbringing of a different race and ethnicity. These barriers may result in a lack of engagement in cultural experiences further impacting their sense of identity and cultural belongingness. A qualitative phenomenological research approach was used to understand how seven Chinese transracial adoptees identity development and sense of cultural belongingness relate to their occupational participation during their early adulthood years. Data was collected through a 45-minute, audio-recorded virtual semi-structured interview via Microsoft Teams and coded using Braun and Clarke method of reflexive thematic analysis. Results suggest that adoptee’s perceptions on cultural socialization practices shifts from childhood to cultural engagement or occupational engagement in adulthood in which six themes emerged reflecting feelings related to discomfort, adoptees’ journey through self-discovery, perception of their adoptive parents and family structure, emerging into diverse communities, and motivations for engagement in cultural experiences as an adult. This study brings insight on the complexity Chinese transracial intercountry adoptees experience in early adulthood to better inform occupational therapists working in community-based or mental health practice settings who may encounter transracial adoptees.

Publication Date

Spring 4-22-2025

Publisher

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences

Keywords

Chinese transracial adoptee, Intercountry adoptee, Cultural experiences, Belongingness, Occupational participation

Medical Subject Headings

Humans, Motivation, Microaggressions

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

Comments

Poster presented at the Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium, held online at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences April 22, 2025

Recommended Citation

Butts, K., & Park, K. (2025, April 22). Exploring Occupational Identity and Cultural Belongingness of Chinese Transracial Intercountry Adoptees: A Qualitative Study. Poster presented at the Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences. Retrieved from https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesspring2025/79

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.