Honors Program Theses

Award Winner

Recipient of the 2021 Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award - First Place.

To go to the Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award page, Click here.

Year of Award

2021 Award

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Kristin Woods, Honors Thesis Advisor

Keywords

Asian American college students--Attitudes; Interracial adoption--Psychological aspects; Identity (Psychology);

Abstract

Asian American transracial adoptees are an underserved and underrepresented population in America, specifically on college campuses. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of experiences lived by individuals in this group, focusing on their time in college. Through qualitative interviews, this research captured the feelings, opinions, and experiences of select individuals within this group. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with six separate participants via video chat. All participants attend(ed) the University of Northern Iowa, were 18 years of age or older, and were adopted from an Asian country into a White, American family. Results showed that each participant is at their own unique stage of identity development based upon their personal experiences and background, and no two are the exact same. However, many of them faced a similar struggle of trying to balance and understand their Asian identity while connecting more to White culture due to their upbringing. Additionally, college resources and programming for minorities was a common positive influence on the college experience across several interviews. The stories of each participant serve as a strong base from which to measure the need and benefit of additional support and resources for this population while in college.

Year of Submission

2021

Department

Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

5-2021

Object Description

1 PDF file (56 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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