Mixed Race Studies

Signs of transcendence? A changing landscape of multiraciality in the 21st century

International Journal of Intercultural Relations
Volume 45, March 2015
Pages 85–95
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.01.004

Evelina Lou
Department of Psychology
York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Richard N. Lalonde, Professor of Psychology
York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The relation between multiracial identity selection and psychological outcomes related to the self and well-being was explored among minority/White biracials spanning four different mixed-race groups (n = 201): Black/Whites, East Asian/Whites, Latino/Whites, and South Asian/Whites. The mixed-race groups showed considerable variability in their selection of multiracial identity categories and different patterns of identity selection, as well as a higher overall representation of transcendent identity (i.e., identity that challenges traditional notions of race) than reported in previously published studies. Our findings demonstrated that biracial identity selection, especially when differentiating between identities that are socially validated or not socially validated by others, was related to a person’s level of multiracial identity integration, identification with Whites, perceived discrimination from Whites and non-Whites, and psychological well-being. Identity selection groups did not significantly differ from each other in levels of self-concept clarity or identification with their non-White racial group. Theoretical implications for extending a multidimensional model to other mixed-race groups and redefining race as a social and cultural construction are discussed.

Read or purchase the article here.

Request for Participants in a Study About Multiracial Identity and Conceptions of Self

2012-11-01

We are currently seeking interested, eligible individuals to participate in a study about multiracial identity and conceptions of self conducted by Evelina Lou and Dr. Richard Lalonde at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire that will take approximately 30 minutes of their time. All responses are entirely anonymous and confidential. As a thank you for contributing to this research, participants may enter a draw for a $25 Amazon gift card (1 in 30 chances to win).

You must meet all of the following eligibility requirements in order to participate:

• Your biological parents are of different racial backgrounds
• One of your parents is White
• You are at least 18 years old

Multiraciality is an ever-increasing lived experience for many individuals that goes well beyond “Black and White.” Unfortunately, most of the psychological research in this area so far has focused on mixed-race individuals from specific backgrounds (e.g., Black/White), despite statistics showing that only a subset of the multiracial population in the U.S. and Canada are limited to these groups. Our aim is to better understand the unique experiences of mixed-race individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. We are particularly interested in how biracial individuals perceive their own racial identity and how this identity is related to past and present social experiences, attitudes, and feelings.

To participate, go to the following website: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/multiracialonlinestudy

And please feel free to pass this along to any eligible friends or family members who might be interested in participating!

Thank you!

Evelina Lou, M.A. (elou@yorku.ca)
Dr. Richard Lalonde (lalonde@yorku.ca)
Department of Psychology
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3

A Multidimensional Framework for Examining Racial Identity across Different Biracial Groups

SPSP 2010
The Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology
2010-01-28 through 2010-01-30
Las Vegas, Nevada

Evelina Lou
York University

Richard N. Lalonde
York University

Carlos Wilson
York University

Recent research has adopted a multidimensional view initially proposed by Rockquemore and colleagues (2002, 2009) for examining racial identity among Black/White biracials. This approach has acknowledged the social construction of and has widened the range of racial identity options beyond the two “traditional” options of “Black” or “biracial.” This study was designed to further assess this framework by examining a more diverse multiracial sample from Canada and the U.S. (N = 122). Results indicated that similar to Black/White biracials (n = 38), Asian/White biracials (n = 40) showed great variability in their selection of Rockquemore’s biracial identity categories, but the pattern of responses differed across the two groups. Specifically, Asian/White individuals were most likely to have a protean identity (i.e., sometimes Asian, sometimes White, and sometimes biracial), whereas Black/White individuals were most likely to have an exclusively biracial identity that they perceived as either validated or unvalidated by other people. In addition, variations in racial identity were in line with cognitive measures of self-concept clarity (SCC) and bicultural identity integration (BII), such that individuals with a validated biracial identity scored higher on SCC and BII than those with a protean or an unvalidated biracial identity. These findings suggest that having a clearly-defined, stable, and integrated bicultural self-concept is associated with the extent to which individuals’ biracial identity is validated by others in their social network. Theoretical implications for extending Rockquemore’s model to other biracial groups are discussed.