Benefits of Cultural Exposure and Development of Korean Perspective-Taking Ability for Transracially Adopted Korean Children.

• DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.11.2.130
• Publication Date: 2005-05-10T14:34:31Z
• Authors: David C. Lee; Stephen M. Quintana
• Keywords: Male; Korea; 4. Education; Culture; 05 social sciences; Social Environment; Peer Group; Self Concept; United States; Adoption; Ethnicity; Humans; Female; Interpersonal Relations; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Child

This study investigated the benefits of cultural exposure for transracially adopted (TRA) Korean children's developmental understanding of being Korean. Fifty TRA Korean children living in the United States were interviewed to assess their understanding of the implications of their Korean status for peer relations and personal identities, using a model of perspective-taking ability (PTA). Results showed cultural exposure and chronological age were significant predictors of children's PTA for being Korean. Cultural exposure had a slightly stronger relationship with PTA development for younger children than older ones. Comparison with another sample suggested that nonadopted native Korean children in the United States for an average of 25 months achieved levels of PTA at earlier ages did TRA children but that level of cultural exposure mediated these age differences.