Amanda L. Baden

Montclair State University · Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership

Narratives from adult adopted individuals highlight their complex relationships with their adoptive families. The range of these relationships, including cutoffs and estrangement, has yet to be explored psychologically. Therefore, we set out to understand how these complicated relationships relate to psychological adjustment and communication. Adul...

Birth parents are the most stigmatized and least researched part of the adoption triad and they experience microaggressions from a number of sources. With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, birth parents’ needs and stories deserve to be elevated. Using the adoption microaggressions framework, this q...

In this study, we explored racial microaggressions (RMAs) and adoption microaggressions (AMAs) experienced and committed by white adoptive parents of transracial adoptees. Two research questions guided this inquiry: (a) What types of RMAs and AMAs do white adoptive parents of children adopted from China experience and commit? and (b) how is white a...

In this study using both qualitative and quantitative analysis, we coded the types and community prevalence of racial microaggressions (RMAs) and adoption microaggressions (AMAs) experienced and reported by White adoptive families with children adopted from China. Analyses examined differences in microaggressions reported by transracial adoptive fa...

The prevalence of substance use among transracial and international adoptees is higher than that of non-adopted persons, and yet no specialized treatment modalities exist for this underserved population. Our purpose is to propose a substance use disorder (SUD) prevention program for transracial adoptive families that addresses the specific issues t...

Adoption has been viewed as inferior to birthing, carrying social stigma which has resulted in members of the adoption triad, specifically adoptees, experiencing discrimination at all levels of the ecological system (Baden, 2016; Wegar, 2000). Transracial and international adoptees holding marginalized racial or ethnic identities contend with discr...

This mixed-methods study examines 20 adult Hong Kong Adoptees (HKADs) with an average age of 53.7 years who attended a Gathering of HKADs in Hong Kong. It has three elements (pre- and post-Gathering surveys and an interview). All participants engaged in two of the three parts of the study, while 14 of those 20 participated in all three parts. Surve...

Reunification or post-adoption contact between adoptees, birth families, and other adoption stakeholders has become a normalized developmental trajectory, yet the process of seeking contact after adoption placement varies greatly depending on numerous factors including access to original birth certificates, openness of the adoption, and systemic an...

Despite common recommendations from professionals that adoption disclosure should be done at early ages, reports suggest that a sizeable number of adult adoptees do not learn of their adoption status until older ages. The few studies that exist indicate that the late discovery of adoption is linked to psychological distress and feelings of anger, b...

In this mixed-methods study, 118 adult adoptees completed an online survey gathering information on (a) reasons for seeking therapy, (b) preferences for therapists, (c) perception of therapists' degree of emphasis on adoption during therapy, and (d) relationship satisfaction with adoptive and birth family members. The participants also completed th...

The collective findings of the six articles in this special issue highlight the importance of ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic identity among international transracial adoptees (ITRAs). A multidimensional developmental phenomenon, ethnic identity intersects with other identities, notably adoptive identity. Family, peers, community, and host c...

This study explores the impact of racial-ethnic socialization on adopted South Korean children and adolescents who attended a sleepaway Korean culture camp for one week. This camp provided racial-ethnic socialization experiences via exposure to camp counselors, staff, and teachers who were Korean Americans, Korean nationals, and Korean adult adopte...

Myths, fairy tales, films, books, and everyday communication contain images and stories of orphans and adoptees that convey societal discomfort and judgment about adoption (i.e., adoption stigma). In this paper, I apply the microaggression model to adoption-related experiences using the literature and theory on adoption stigma. Definitions for adop...

Despite a 60-plus–year history of international adoption (IA) placements, the body of research exploring counseling and psychological interventions for those affected by IA is still in its infancy. This critical review of the state of the literature addresses research, theory, and practice relevant to the international adoption triad (adoptive pare...

The cultural experiences of transracial and international adoptees (TRIAs) are uniquely affected by their adoption across cultures and racial/ethnic groups. Upon adoption, TRIAs typically identify quickly with their adoptive parents' White culture but may eventually seek to reclaim their birth culture. Current terminology used to describe cultural...

(From the chapter) Sibling relationships in adoptive families remain largely unexplored in the research literature on clinical practice and development. Even less explored are the relationships between siblings that cross racial and cultural boundaries, as in the case of many families formed through transracial and international adoption. This chap...

(From the chapter) This chapter provides a brief overview of transracial adoption and the identity processes that transracial adoptees and their families navigate. We examine identity by applying two models of identity development to these individuals' experiences: the CRIM (Baden & Steward, 2004, 2007) and the MHID (see Chapter 3). To demonstrate...

For the past 50 years, adults who were adopted during infancy have been research participants for empirical studies with goals ranging from twin studies for heritability, to adjustment following adoption, to attachment. While the research body is broad, it has given little attention to counseling practices with adopted adults. Because empirical res...

This chapter will briefly review the documented historical and contextual perspectives on transracial and international adoption (TIA) for China. From that perspective, the attitudes of Chinese people toward relinquishment of children, adoption domestically and internationally, and transracial adoption will be discussed. Comparisons and contrasts o...

Using the Cultural-Racial Identity Model, the authors of this chapter examine the following questions: Are transracial adoptees a monolithic group in terms of psychological adjustment? Are the predictions of poor psychological adjustment, rejection of transracial adoptees, and identity confusion true? If so, how can we continue to engage in this de...

Breaking the seal: Taking adoption issues to the academic and professional communities Adoption has a long history in human civilization, with clear reference to its existence as far back as biblical time. The adoption triad, which consists of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons, can be readily identified within these biblical stor...

Although most mental health and behavioral health professionals have encountered adoption triad members-birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons-in their clinical practice, the vast majority have had no formal or informal training on adoption issues. The Handbook of Adoption is the first text designed for mental health practitioners to...

This qualitative study explored the cultural adjustment experiences of 15 Asian Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese international college women through semistructured interviews. By using consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997), 6 primary domains or themes related to these women's cultur...

This article addresses birth parents in the adoption triad by reviewing and integrating both the clinical and empirical literature from a number of professional disciplines with practice case studies. This review includes literature on the decision to relinquish one's child for adoption, the early postrelinquishment period, and the effects througho...

This article presents an overview of the practice of adoption to counseling psychologists to promote clinical understanding of the adoption experience and to stimulate research on adoption. The article includes definitions of adoption terminology, important historical and legal developments for adoption, a summary of adoption statistics, conceptual...

Unfortunately, while society has begun to talk about adoption, particularly about postadoption issues such as search and reunion, the behavioral sciences have remained largely silent. This silence includes both academic researchers and practitioners in the applied areas of mental health.

The prevalence of adoption in our society and our awareness of adoption-related issues have increased markedly in recent years, due to socioeconomic and sociopolitical changes at the national and international level. Given the high incidence of adoption in the United States today, it is perplexing and unfortunate that many adoptive triad members st...

In response to the need for increased understanding of the identity process of transracial adoptees, the Cultural Racial Identity Model (A. L. Baden & R. J. Steward, 1995) was developed; however, the model has yet to be empirically validated. The model allows distinctions to be made between racial identity and cultural identity, resulting in 16 pro...

A new model for understanding and depicting the unique identity experiences of those reared in racially and/or culturally integrated families is presented. The model accounts for heterogeneity within groups defined by their racially integrated families. For the purpose of describing and presenting the model, it was applied to the unique experiences...

In a study of 82 White counselor trainees enrolled in 3 graduate programs, gender and the lowest stage of cognitive development were found to significantly contribute to the variance in lower levels of the White racial identity. Male trainees who tended to think in dichotomous terms and look to authority to provide the correct answers tended to rep...

Counseling psychologists have yet to study the counseling needs of transracially adopted children. The intent of this paper is to present a model that increases understanding of possible adaptations of transracial adoptees. Race and culture of adoptees, parents, and that reflected within the community in which the family resides are all highlighted...