Intercountry adoption migration process: Cultural challenges and resources to promote psychosocial well-being

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants, living a unique “quiet migration” process as they enter host culture as individuals rather than as members of a group, and not sharing any physical resemblance with their adoptive parents. There is a growing interest in research focusing on how adoptees face the challenges of identity development, such as the integration and balancing of their ethnic background with adoptive parents’ host culture. Given the prevalence of transracial adoptions in Italy on the one hand, and the paucity of studies focused on these processes on the other, the present contribution is aimed at reviewing the main results of research carried out in Italy. Specifically, the focus is on how transracial adoptees define their national, ethnic, and bicultural identity, highlighting the role of parental cultural socialization and adoptees’ perceived discrimination in shaping their identity development and psychosocial well-being. We conclude with practice implications.