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College student attitudes toward transracial adoption . by Mark Whatley , Julia N. Jahangardi , Rashonda Ross , David Knox
One hundred and eighty-eight undergraduates at a large southeastern university completed a confidential anonymous questionnaire designed to assess their attitudes toward adopting a child transracially (transracial adoption was defined as the adoption of a child from a race different from that of the adoptive parent). Thirty was the average score (possible range 15-105 with the lower the score the more positive the attitude) reflecting overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward transracial adoption. Significant differences included that females, persons willing to adopt a child at all, interracially experienced daters, and those open to interracial dating were more willing to adopt transracially than men persons rejecting adoption as an optional route to parenthood, persons with no previous interracial dating experience, and persons closed to interracial dating. The findings are consistent with the literature. An African-American baby abandoned by his crack-addicted mother and adopted by a white social worker and her husband was the focus of Losing Isaiah (1995 film featuring academy award winning actress Halle Berry). The film gave increased cultural emphasis to the issue of transracial adoption (defined as the adoption of a child from a race different from that of the adoptive parent). Previous research on this issue has concerned social workers attitude/perceptions of transracial adoption (Carter-Black, 2002; Lightfoot, 1989), the prediction of attitudes toward transracial adoption (Hollingsworth, 2000), and the experience of transracial adoption from the point of view of adoptees and their parents (Simon, 1996). This study reflects data from 188 undergraduates who completed the Transracial Adoption Scale developed by Dr. Whatley (Whatley, 2002). Sex, race, religion, membership in a sorority/fraternity, interracial dating experience, openness to interracial dating, parental military background and willingness to adopt if unable to have a child were examined for associations. Sample and Questionnaire The sample consisted of 188 undergraduates from East Carolina University who responded to an anonymous questionnaire in the fall of 2002. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents were female; thirty-one percent were male. The mean age of the respondents was 20.75 (SD = 3.18) with most (84%) reporting that they were white; 11%, African American, 1% Asian American; 1% American Indian, 0.5% Hispanic, and 1% indicating they were from other racial/ethnic backgrounds. The college classification of the sample was 15% Freshman, 38% Sophomore, 22% Junior, 25% Senior, with 0.5% unknown. The religious affiliation of the sample was 43% Protestant, 18% Catholic, 1% Jewish, 38% of the sample did not indicate a religious preference. The questionnaire and data collection procedures were approved by the Human Research Committee at East Carolina University; all participants were treated in accordance with accepted ethical protocol. The questionnaire consisted of 15 background characteristics and The Attitudes Toward Transracial Adoption Scale. For the latter, the participants responded to each of 15 items on a seven point scale from (1) Strongly Disagree to (7) Strongly Agree with lower scores representing more positive attitudes and higher scores representing more negative attitudes toward transracial adoption. The reliability (internal consistency of the items) was .90. The coefficient of variation for the scale was .45. The coefficient of variation allows a comparison and assessment of the amount of variation that exists in a measure (Howell, 1992). The higher the value the more variation exists, and the greater the variation the greater the ability of a measure to discriminate between groups. A one-way analysis of variance was calculated to determine if differences existed in attitudes toward transracial adoption scores among respondents with various background characteristics. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests and r was calculated as the effect size. Findings and Discussion The lowest possible score on the Attitudes Toward Transracial Adoption Scale was 15; the highest possible score was 105; the midpoint, 60. The average score of the 188 respondents was 29.68 (SD = 13.29) reflecting very positives attitudes toward transracial adoption. The scores ranged from 15 to 90. While race, religion, membership in a sorority/fraternity, and parental military background were not associated with attitudes toward transracial adoption, four significant differences emerged. 1. Females had more positive transracial attitudes than males. The respective means of the women and men were 28.27 and 32.76 reflecting a significant difference (p <.05) in attitudes toward transracial adoption. Since adoption is a "relationship" issue we are not surprised to find that our female respondents were more open to transracial adoption. Previous researchers have documented the relationship focus of women- their value for relationships (Cherry, 1998), time with close friends (Roy et al, 2000) and tendency toward being cooperative (Garza and Borchert, 1990). In addition, women place a higher value on having children than men (American Council on Education and University of California, 2001). Their desire to do so may mitigate any reservations they may have about racial issues. Indeed, they are focused on the role of becoming a mother not becoming the mother of a child of a particular racial background. 2. Potential adoptive parents more willing to adopt transracially An overwhelming majority of the sample (92%) reported that they would be willing to adopt a child if they could not have their own biological child. The respective means of those willing to adopt versus those unwilling to adopt were 28.66 and 40.91 reflecting a significant difference (p <.01) in attitudes toward transracial adoption. Again, we are not surprised in that those willing to adopt at all would be more highly motivated for parenthood and be willing to seek alternatives to having biological children including transracial adoption. In addition, Gaskins (2000) observed, "... Some parents adopt kids of different backgrounds for idealistic reasons- as a way of living their belief in diversity, for example. But most white parents who adopt transracially do so because most babies available for adoption are nonwhite." (p 10) 3. Interracially experienced daters more willing to adopt transracially. Approximately one- third (33%) of the respondents reported that they had dated someone of another race. A one-way ANOVA was calculated to determine whether attitudes toward transracial adoption were influenced by a respondent's prior involvement in interracial dating. The finding was significant (p <.05) suggesting that those with prior interracial dating experience (M = 26.3 5) held more positive attitudes toward transracial adoption than those who had not dated interracially (M = 31.49) than those who had not dated interracially. Interracial daters have already demonstrated their progressive attitudes towards race relations. Having a partner outside of one's race may predispose one's openness to the prospect of a future (including parenting) without color considerations. 4. Those open to interracial dating more willing to adopt transracially. While only a third had dated interracially, over two-thirds (69%) were open to dating interracially. A oneway ANOVA was calculated to determine whether attitudes toward transracial adoption was influenced by participants willingness to date interracially. The finding was significant (p <.01) suggesting that those open to interracial dating (M = 27.41) held more positive attitudes toward transracial adoption than those who would not consider interracial dating (M = 3 5.22). Research (Knox et al 2000) has shown that today's college students tend to have liberal views towards acceptance of those outside of their racial classification. This trend includes openness to interracial dating and the prospect of a future together, including parenthood (Knox et al. 2000). Implications The data from this study have implications for students and faculty. Students become aware that transracial adoption is an option for most college students. Since over 90% of college students will eventually marry and an equal percent express an interest in having children, transracial adoption is a possibility for most of the 15% who may experience infertility. Faculty who teach relationship courses may alert students to the potential of an interracial child in their future Most students are focused in the here and now, rarely consider parenthood issues, and almost never infertility issues. If college is a consciousness-raising context, this issue is now visible. References American Council on Education and University of California, (2001) The American freshman: National norms for fall, 2001. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute. U.C. L. A. Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Carter-Black, J. (2002) Transracial adoption and foster care placement: Worker perception and Attitude. Child Welfare, 81, 337-370. Gaskins, P. (2000) "That's my mother." Scholastic Choice, 16, 10-12 Hollingsworth, L. (2000) Demographics attitudes adoption race: Families in Society, 81, 92-100. Howell, D. C. (1992). Statistical methods for psychology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: PWS-Kent Publishing. Knox, D., M.E. Zusman C. Bluffington and G. Hemphill. (2000) Interracial dating attitudes among college students. College Student Journal 34, 69-71. Lightfoot, T.J. (1989) Attitudes toward adoption: Caseworker/professional attitudes. Social Worker Perspectives on Transracial Adoption. Master's Thesis, California State University, Los Angeles, May. Simon, R.J. (1996) Transracial adoptions: Experiences of a twenty-year study. Interracial adoption American Sociologist, 27, 79-89 Whatley, Mark. (2002) The Attitudes toward Transracial Adoption Scale. Unpublished scale. Use only with the permission of Dr. Whatley, Department of Psychology, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia mwhatley@valdosta.edu * A previous version of this paper was presented at the Eastern Sociological Society in Philadelphia, Feb 28, 2003. Contact Dr. Mark Whatley for reprints and permission to use the Attitudes toward Transracial Adoption Scale, Department of Psychology, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia mwhatley@valdosta.edu MARK WHATLEY AND JULIA N. JAHANGARDI Valdosta State University RASHONDA ROSS AND DAVID KNOX East Carolina University |
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