Biracial Self-Identification: Impact on Trait Anxiety, Social Anxiety, and DepressionPosted in Articles, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive on 2010-01-06 01:27Z by Steven |
Biracial Self-Identification: Impact on Trait Anxiety, Social Anxiety, and Depression
Identity
Volume 7, Issue 2
May 2007
pages 103 – 114
DOI: 10.1080/15283480701326018
Victoria H. Coleman
Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C.
M. M. Carter
Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C.
Sixty-one Biracial participants were assessed on measures of depression, trait anxiety, and social anxiety to ascertain if their racial identity choice impacted their scores on these psychological measures. Societal pressure to identify as monoracial was also measured to determine if the various racial identity groups perceived these pressures differently and if these pressures were related to the reported quality of psychological functioning. Results indicated that a validated Biracial identity may serve as a protective factor for anxiety and depressive symptoms, whereas Biracial individuals who consider their race to be meaningless or fluid based on situational factors reported significantly higher levels of depression and trait anxiety symptoms than other Biracial individuals. The latter group also reported the least pressure from family to identify as monoracial. Societal pressure from peers to identify as monoracial was found to predict social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation among all Biracial participants
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