TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION IN BRITAIN - A FOLLOW-UP-STUDY, WITH POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Long-term British follow-up study of 2 7 Afro-Caribbean and mixed-race children adopted by Caucasian parents, and 25 Caucasian children adop ted by same race. parents, is reported. The adoptees were studied in t he late 1970s, and 12 years later when they were, on average, 19 years old. Outcomes for both groups in terms of a number of measures of adj ustment and identity were generally excellent. Some 10% of both groups , however, had poor adjustment. Although the outcomes for the transrac ially adopted group are likely to be different in identity terms from Afro-Caribbean children brought up in same-race families, there is no evidence from this and other studies that such an intercultural identi ty leads to unfavorable adjustment. On the contrary, these children se em well prepared by transracial adoption to participate effectively in a multicultural, multiracial society. Transracial adoption should be considered for all children (Afro-Caribbean or Caucasian) who cannot b e placed inracially.