‘Normal’ Ethnic and Racial Identity Development

Before delving into a discussion about racial and ethnic identity formation, it is crucial to distinguish between race and ethnicity.

• Both are socially constructed categories.
• Although there is not a way to biologically distinguish between races, a racial categories are made based on "perceived common physical characteristics that are held to be inherent” (Cornell, 2007, 25).
• Ethnicity is defined by perceived common ancestry and shared history, symbols, and practices.
• My research will focus on ethnicity and ethnic identity, but race plays a prominent role in both.

Now... on to identity formation! Identity construction takes place largely in adolescence, and is an ongoing, dynamic process (Smith and Howard, 1999; Phinney, 1987). Below is a rough sketch of the stages of ethnic identity formation that children ordinarily move through:

• Developmentally, children first become aware of ethnic differences at a very young age.
• However, children “initially learn from others what [ethnic] group they belong to” (Phinney, 1987, 15). Thus parental socialization strategies play a crucial role in the nascent stages of ethnic identity formation.
• When the child enters adolescence, he or she has acquired the cognitive capacity to process and interpret ethnic stimuli and assert their own ethnic self-identification (Phinney, 1987).

Identity formation of children adopted from China deviates from this 'normal' developmental model because they must incorporate being adopted into their identity, as well. Furthermore, Chinese adoptees’ who are adopted transracially must cope with an additional "layer of difference" (i.e. being a different race than their parents). Parents’ method of negotiating the layers of differences within the family can have profound implications for transracial adoptees’ ethnic identity formation.

Because the adolescent years are a crucial time for identity formation, one’s family and caretakers during his or her youth have a huge impact on their identity formation.

• By fostering open communication about adoption and identity, parents can facilitate identity achievement (Smith and Howard, 1999).
• Furthermore, studies have indicated that "parental sensitivity to race or culture, respect for the child’s cultural heritage, living in integrated areas, and exposing the child to positive aspects of his or her heritage are important in promoting positive self-image and adjustment” (ibid, 171).
• While parents can aid in identity achievement, they can also put up barriers for the child, even if it is done inadvertently. Smith and Howard assert that if the family “is conflicted or negative about adoption or child’s birth family, the child has a harder time coming to a healthy resolution of identity issues” (ibid, 168).