IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v35y2013i1p142-150.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is there a (transracial) adoption achievement gap?

Author

Listed:
  • Raleigh, Elizabeth
  • Kao, Grace

Abstract

In one of the first longitudinal population-based studies examining adopted children's educational achievement, we analyze whether there is a test-score gap between children in adoptive families and children in biological families. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we find in aggregate adopted children have lower reading and math scores than their counterparts living in biological families. Yet there is significant variation among adoptive families by their race and health status. On one hand adoptive parents tend to be White and have more economic capital than their non-adoptive counterparts potentially contributing to educational advantages. However adopted children are also more likely to have special educational needs, contributing to greater educational disadvantages. Untangling these variables through a multivariate regression analysis, we find that transracially adopted children have similar test scores to White children living with biological parents. We point to the interaction between race, family resources and children's health status and how these characteristics differentially shape achievement outcomes for adopted children.

Suggested Citation

  • Raleigh, Elizabeth & Kao, Grace, 2013. "Is there a (transracial) adoption achievement gap?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 142-150.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:35:y:2013:i:1:p:142-150
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740912003672
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.019?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Smith-McKeever, Chedgzsey, 2006. "Adoption satisfaction among African-American families adopting African-American children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 825-840, July.
    2. Kaushal, Neeraj & Nepomnyaschy, Lenna, 2009. "Wealth, race/ethnicity, and children's educational outcomes," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 963-971, September.
    3. Brooks, Devon & James, Sigrid, 2003. "Willingness to adopt back foster children: implications for child welfare policy and recruitment of adoptive families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5-6), pages 463-489.
    4. Chen, E. & Martin, A.D. & Matthews, K.A., 2006. "Understanding health disparities: The role of race and socioeconomic status in children's health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(4), pages 702-708.
    5. Wilson, Samantha L. & Weaver, Terri L. & Cradock, Mary Michaeleen & Kuebli, Janet E., 2008. "A preliminary study of the cognitive and motor skills acquisition of young international adoptees," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 585-596, May.
    6. Groze, Victor, 1996. "A 1 and 2 year follow-up study of adoptive families and special needs children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1-2), pages 57-82.
    7. Mohanty, Jayashree & Newhill, Christina, 2006. "Adjustment of international adoptees: Implications for practice and a future research agenda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 384-395, April.
    8. Sharma, Anu R. & McGue, Matthew K. & Benson, Peter L., 1996. "The emotional and behavioral adjustment of United States adopted adolescents: Part I. An overview," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1-2), pages 83-100.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dalen, Monica & Theie, Steinar & Rygvold, Anne-Lise, 2020. "School adjustment of internationally adopted children in primary school: A mother and teacher approach," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Groze, Victor, 1996. "Introduction: Advances in research and theory in adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1-2), pages 1-4.
    2. Gillum, Nerissa & O'Brien, Marion, 2010. "Adoption satisfaction of Black adopted children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 1656-1663, December.
    3. Santos-Nunes, Marta & Narciso, Isabel & Vieira-Santos, Salomé & Roberto, Magda Sofia, 2017. "Parenting and emotional well-being of adoptive school-aged children: The mediating role of attachment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 390-399.
    4. Guowen Shang & Julia Christine Marinaccio & Tuathla Lai Honne, 2022. "A Norwegian Soul in a Chinese Body? Ethnic Identity and Chinese Adoptees in Norway," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Hussey, David L. & Falletta, Lynn & Eng, Abbey, 2012. "Risk factors for mental health diagnoses among children adopted from the public child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2072-2080.
    6. Kathleen Hibbert & Nicolle S. Tulve, 2019. "State-of-the-Science Review of Non-Chemical Stressors Found in a Child’s Social Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-27, November.
    7. Asirvatham, Jebaraj & Nayga, Rodolfo M. Jr. & Thomsen, Michael R., 2013. "Peer-Effects on Childhood Obesity," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150417, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Zhan, Min & Sherraden, Michael, 2011. "Assets and liabilities, race/ethnicity, and children's college education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2168-2175.
    9. Cohen, Nancy J. & Farnia, Fataneh, 2011. "Children adopted from China: Attachment security two years later," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2342-2346.
    10. Scherr, Courtney L. & Getachew-Smith, Hannah J. & Sudec, Laura & Brooks, John J. & Roberts, Megan, 2020. "Parents’ sensemaking processes in the identification of developmental delays and engagement with early intervention services," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    11. Tyrone C. Cheng & Celia C. Lo, 2022. "Testing the Multiple Disadvantage Model of Health with Ethnic Asian Children: A Secondary Data Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-11, December.
    12. Day, Angelique & Willis, Tamarie & Vanderwill, Lori & Resko, Stella & Patterson, Debra & Henneman, Kris & Cohick, Sue, 2018. "Key factors and characteristics of successful resource parents who care for older youth: A systematic review of research," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 152-158.
    13. Susana Mariscal, E. & Akin, Becci A. & Lieberman, Alice A. & Washington, DaKie, 2015. "Exploring the path from foster care to stable and lasting adoption: Perceptions of foster care alumni," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 111-120.
    14. Rolock, Nancy & White, Kevin & Blakey, Joan M. & Ocasio, Kerrie & Korsch-Williams, Amy & Flanigan, Chelsea & Bai, Rong & Faulkner, Monica & Marra, Laura & Fong, Rowena, 2023. "Living apart after adoption or guardianship: Perspectives of adoptive parents and guardians," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    15. Mark Skidmore & Gary Anderson & Mark Eiswerth, 2011. "The Child Adoption Marketplace: Parental Preferences and Adoption Outcomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 3674, CESifo.
    16. Jiaming Soh & Kegon T. K. Tan, 2020. "The Nurture Effects of Multidimensional Parental Skills on College Attainment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-42.
    17. Terri Friedline & Ilsung Nam & Vernon Loke, 2014. "Households’ Net Worth Accumulation Patterns and Young Adults’ Financial Health: Ripple Effects of the Great Recession?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 390-410, September.
    18. Laura Argys & Brian Duncan, 2013. "Economic Incentives and Foster Child Adoption," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 933-954, June.
    19. Buttenheim, Alison & Goldman, Noreen & Pebley, Anne R. & Wong, Rebeca & Chung, Chang, 2010. "Do Mexican immigrants "import" social gradients in health to the US?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(7), pages 1268-1276, October.
    20. Mark Skidmore & Gary Anderson & Mark Eiswerth, 2016. "The Child Adoption Marketplace," Public Finance Review, , vol. 44(2), pages 163-196, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:35:y:2013:i:1:p:142-150. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.