Cross-Cultural Adoption

Cross-cultural adoption refers to children from one country or culture being adopted by parents from another. This includes domestic cross-race adoption (also called transrace adoption) as well as international adoption (also called intercountry or transnational adoption). Domestic and international cross-cultural adoptions share many, but not all, considerations. As with monocultural adoptions, the course of development is affected by the child’s pre-adoption situation and the ability of the child and the family to construct a supportive adoption narrative. These factors are further colored by the specifics of the cross-cultural circumstance: differing international laws about adoption; the social, familial, medical, and/or political context of the child’s pre-adoption life; and the multiple identities an adoptive family must develop. Most children who are adopted across cultures adapt well, develop ...