Table of Contents

Abstract

This study investigates life satisfaction ratings, coded on an 11-point Likert scale, of Koreans who were placed in childhood for adoption into mid-upper class families living in wealthy Western countries. Life satisfaction was regressed on physical disability status, race-related and adoption-related factors while controlling for basic biological co-variates such as age and gender. Expectedly, disability status and racial discrimination had a statistically significant negative impact on life satisfaction, while the relation to the adoptive parents had a positive and even larger impact than the previous two effects. Apparently, good relations to the Western parents not only mitigated the effects of adoption-related discrimination per se, but also had a positive side effect on dealing with disability-related and race-related discrimination in everyday life society.

Keywords: Disability status, migration, life satisfaction, well-being, Korea