Richard M. Lee

Breaking the Silence Advancing Knowledge about Adoption for Counseling Psychologists

Research indicates that 6 in 10 Americans have had experience with adoption (i.e., either they or a family member or close friend was adopted, placed a child for adoption, or adopted a child) and that one third of all adults have considered adopting a child (Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, 1997). It is estimated that between 2% and 4% of American families have adopted, and there could be as many as 5 million adoptees in this country (Mosher & Bachrach, 1996; Stolley, 1993). Recent changes in adoption policies and practices also have contributed to the prevalence of adoption. International adoption, for instance, has risen dramatically from approximately 8,000 adoptions in 1989 to more than 19,000 adoptions in 2001 (U. S. Department of State, 2001). Given the prevalence of adoption triad members (i.e., adoptees, birthparents, and adoptive parents) in the United States, the silence of the mental health community about adoption issues is surprising. Adoption experts argue that it is important for practitioners to understand the complexities of adoption practice as well as its psychological impact to

The Relationship between Social Connectedness and Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Social Identity.

Social connectedness and its relationship with anxiety, self-esteem, and social identity was explored in the lives of women. Social connectedness was negatively related to trait anxiety and made a larger unique contribution to trait anxiety than social support or collective self-esteem. Women with high connectedness also reported greater social identification in high, as compared with low, cohesion conditions. Women with low connectedness exhibited no difference in either condition. Social connectedness was also positively related to state self-esteem across both conditions but did not have an effect on state anxiety. Future research in gender and cultural differences, self-evaluation process, and intervention strategies are discussed in light of the findings.

Do ethnic identity and other-group orientation protect against discrimination for Asian americans?

Ethnic identity and other-group orientation were examined as possible moderators and mediators on the effects of personal ethnic discrimination and minority group discrimination in 2 studies of Asian Americans. Results demonstrated that discrimination, particularly when directed personally at an individual, correlated negatively with psychological well-being and correlated positively with distress. Ethnic identity and other-group orientation, however, correlated positively with psychological well-being. Contrary to the main hypothesis, ethnic identity did not moderate or mediate the effects of discrimination, although other-group orientation demonstrated a moderator effect on community well-being. More research on ethnic identity and other-group orientation as protective factors that enable Asian Americans to be resilient against discrimination is necessary to clarify the findings from these studies.

Resilience against Discrimination: Ethnic Identity and Other-Group Orientation as Protective Factors for Korean Americans.

This study investigated the resilience of 84 Korean American college students in the context of perceived ethnic discrimination. Two cultural resources, multidimensional ethnic identity and other-group orientation, were hypothesized as protective factors that moderate the negative effects of discrimination. Only 1 aspect of ethnic identity was found to have a moderation effect. Specifically, ethnic identity pride operated as a protective-reactive factor that moderated the effects of discrimination on depressive symptoms and social connectedness but not on self-esteem. Ethnic identity pride and perceived discrimination had first-order effects on self-esteem.

The Transracial Adoption Paradox History, Research, and Counseling Implications of Cultural Socialization

The number of transracial adoptions in the United States, particularly international adoptions, is increasing annually. Counseling psychology as a profession, however, is a relatively silent voice in the research on and practice of transracial adoption. This article presents an overview of the history and research on transracial adoption to inform counseling psychologists of the set of racial and ethnic challenges and opportunities that transracial adoptive families face in everyday living. Particular attention is given to emergent theory and research on the cultural socialization process within these families.

Construction of the Asian American Family Conflicts Scale

This study describes the construction and initial validation of the Asian American Family Conflicts Scale (FCS) with 3 samples of Asian American college students. The scale consists of 10 typical Asian American family conflicts that are rated for likelihood of occurrence (FCS-Likelihood) and seriousness of conflict (FCS-Seriousness). In Study 1, FCS-Likelihood and FCS-Seriousness had sound internal reliability, stability, and construct validity. In Study 2, FCS-Likelihood correlated with socioeconomic and cultural orientation variables. Ethnic, generation, and language differences, as well as the parent-child acculturation gap hypothesis, also were confirmed for FCS-Likelihood. In Study 3, FCS-Likelihood correlated with measures of family cohesion, adaptability, and parent-child communication. Although further validation is necessary, FCS-Likelihood in particular is a potentially useful research and clinical instrument for assessing the quality of Asian American parent-child relationships.

Ethnic Identity and Approach-Type Coping as Moderators of the Racial Discrimination/Well-Being Relation in Asian Americans.

Ethnic identity, in combination with approach-type coping strategies (i.e., social support seeking, cognitive restructuring, and problem solving), was hypothesized to moderate the effects of perceived racial discrimination on the well-being of Asian American college students. Results found that individuals with a strong ethnic identity were more likely to engage in approach-type coping strategies, but the use of cognitive restructuring and problem solving coping buffered the effects of racial discrimination on well-being only when racial discrimination was low. These results are contrary to the current literature and suggest ethnic identity and approach-type coping strategies may not always protect against discrimination for Asian Americans.

Coping with intergenerational family conflict: Comparison of Asian American, Hispanic, and European American college students.

Using a stress-coping framework, the authors examined indirect and direct coping strategies as potential mediators in the relationship between intergenerational family conflict and psychological distress in Asian American, Hispanic, and European American college students. Asian American college students reported the highest likelihood of family conflict. Students from all cultural groups also used direct coping slightly more often than they did indirect coping. Only indirect coping mediated the effect of family conflict on distress for Asian Americans and European Americans, but it did so in the opposite direction than hypothesized. For these two cultural groups, indirect coping fully accounted for the variance shared between family conflict and psychological distress. For Hispanics, indirect coping partially mediated the effect of family conflict on psychological distress.

Structure and Measurement of Ethnic Identity for Asian American College Students.

The authors investigated the structure and measurement of ethnic identity using the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; J. S. Phinney, 1992) on a diverse sample of Asian American college students. The authors drew upon 3 previously published datasets to examine the factor structure of the MEIM, initial reliability and construct validity, demographic group differences, and concurrent validity with psychological well-being. The authors identified a 3-factor structure of the MEIM composed of Cognitive Clarity, Affective Pride, and Behavioral Engagement, and these 3 ethnic identity subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability and construct validity with some initial evidence for differential concurrent validity on 2 measures of well-being.

Cultural Socialization in Families With Internationally Adopted Children

Cultural socialization attitudes, beliefs, and parenting behaviors were examined in families with internationally adopted children. The authors hypothesized that parents with lower color-blind racial attitudes would be more likely to engage in enculturation and racialization parenting behaviors because they hold stronger beliefs in the value and importance of cultural socialization. Using data from the Minnesota International Adoption Project, the results support this mediation model of cultural socialization. Individual variations in cultural socialization also are discussed in terms of child development and shifting adoption attitudes and practices.