Mixed Race Studies

Making the invisible visible: Experiences of multiracial late adolescents/young adults with three or more racial backgrounds

The Wright Institute
May 2011
182 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3459694
ISBN: 9781124715537

Frandelia Sharmila Moore

A dissertation submitted to the Wright Institute School of Psychology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Psychology

Research regarding the experiences of multiracial late adolescents/young adults with three or more racial backgrounds has a rare presence in psychological literature. The present study was the first overall exploration of the experiences of this population. A qualitative approach, specifically Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), was used to investigate the experiences of multiracial late adolescents/young adults. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 participants between the ages of 19 and 25 to examine their experiences in different areas of their lives such as general experiences as a multiracial person, personal identification and identification by others. It also explored the influence of racial identity development, the experience of being multiracial in relation to attitudes/practices, the likes and challenges of being multiracial and advice from the multiracial perspective. IPA was used to extract 20 major themes which were placed in 3 domains: the effects of oppression on the community, the intersection of systemic perceptions of multiracial late adolescents/young adults, and experiences of multiracial identity. The domains and themes are discussed in connection with the current literature as well as clinical implications and future research for this population.

The outcome of this study emphasizes the effects of oppression on the community, family and the multiracial individual. Participants report how the long lasting effects of colonization and slavery have left them in position where they are judged because of their phenotype, their mixed racial background, and their behavior if different from the stereotype of a specific monoracial group. They are often classified as monoracial by others due to phenotype or because others must place them into a category regardless of their mixed heritage. However, the majority of participants claimed a private and public multiracial identity. Overall, multiracial identity has allowed participants to be more open and tolerant of others’ realities and it has influenced their course of education and/or future career goals in a positive way. Finally, participants advise parents of multiracial children to educate and expose their children to all of the races/cultures in their background in order to help them develop a healthy identity. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Table of Contents

• ABSTRACT
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• CHAPTER ONE
  • Introduction
• CHAPTER TWO
  • Literature Review
  • Definition of key terms
  • A historical context of Blacks in the United States
    • The slave trade
    • Race relations during the Colonial era
    • The American Revolution
    • The fight for freedom
    • The Civil Rights era
  • A historical context of people of color in the United States
  • A historical context of mixed people in the United States
    • The multiracial Civil Rights Movement: Where we are now
  • Racial Identity Development
    • Ethnic identity development
    • Monoracial identity development
    • Biracial identity development
    • Multiracial identity development
  • Research on mixed race people
  • Adolescent Identity Development
  • Mixed race adolescents
  • Present study
• CHAPTER THREE
  • Methodology
    • Participants
    • Procedure
    • Instrument
    • Data Analysis
• CHAPTER FOUR
  • Results
    • The Participants
    • Themes
    • Data Analysis
• CHAPTER FIVE
  • Discussion
    • Clinical Implications
    • Strengths and Limitations
    • Suggestions for Future Research
    • Conclusion
• REFRENCES
• APPENDICES
  • Appendix A: Informed Consent
  • Appendix B: Participant Consent Form
  • Appendix C: Demographic Questionnaire
  • Appendix D: Interview Questions
  • Appendix E: Full Review CPHS Protocol
  • Appendix F: Flyer

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What are you? A qualitative study on multiracial identity development

The Wright Institute
June 2008
115 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3351317
ISBN: 9781109073614

Luana M. Coloma

A dissertation submitted to the Wright Institute Graduate School of Psychology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology

The current study explored essential themes of multiracial ethnic identity among six Asian-White women. Participants were between the ages of 19 and 27, and self-identified as having a White mother and an Asian father. Participants were interviewed face-to-face using a semi-structured questionnaire. Interviews were then transcribed and coded for themes using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Five primary themes emerged: The Continuous Journey of Ethnic Identity Development, Situational Identity, The Maternal Relationship and its Effects on Identity Development, The Comparison of Multiracial Experiences to Monoracial Experiences, and the Asian-White Experience. A number of subthemes also were identified. Although some of the themes mirrored findings from previous multiracial research, such as identity being situationally based, new themes also emerged. In particular, themes related to the relationship between the White mother and her multiracial daughter were brought to light. In addition, preliminary results relating to the unique experience of the Asian-White subgroup when compared to the larger multiracial subgroup were identified. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Definitions
  • Historical Background of the Presence of Multiracial Individuals in the United States
  • Current Research on the Multiracial Population
  • The Asian-White Multiracial Experience
  • Identity Development
    • Ethnic Identity Development Models
    • Multiracial Identity Development Models
    • Multiracial Identity Development Models for Asian-White Individuals
  • A Closer Look at the Mother-Daughter Relationship
    • The Mother-Daughter Relationship
    • Multiracial Daughters and Their Relationships With Their Mothers
    • Multiracial Daughters and Their White Mothers
  • Summary
  • Hypotheses
• Methodology
  • Participants
  • Procedure
  • Instruments
  • Data Analyses
• Results
  • Demographic and Biographical Information
    • Participant 1
    • Participant 2
    • Participant 3
    • Participant 4
    • Participant 5
    • Participant 6
  • Interview Themes
    • The Continuous Journey of Ethnic Identity Development
    • Situational Identity
    • The Maternal Relationship and its Effects on Ethnic Identity
    • The Comparison of Multiracial Experiences to Monoracial Experiences
    • The Asian-White Experience
• Discussion
  • Discussion of Results
    • Hypothesis One
    • Hypothesis Two
    • Hypothesis Three
  • Limitations and Confounds
  • Recommendations for Future Research
• References
  • Appendices
  • Appendix A
  • Appendix B
  • Appendix C
  • Appendix D

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Shades of Community and Conflict: Biracial Adults of African-American and Jewish-American Heritages

The Wright Institute, Berkeley, California
1998
152 pages
Publisher: Dissertation.com
ISBN-10: 1581120249
ISBN-13: 9781581120240

Josyln C. Segal

A dissertation submitted to the Write Institute Graduate School of Psychology in partial fulfullment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy in Psychology

This study of eighteen adults of African-American and Jewish-American heritage explores how biracial subjects of two minority parents negotiates mixed race heritage and identity in a society that maintains a hostile attitude toward interracial unions. Data collection included1) a semi-structured interview to determine subjects’ own sense of racial/ethnic identity, 2) a measure of parental closeness, and 3) a series of twelve anecdotal hypothetical situations as a stimulus to revealing subjects’ affective, cognitive and behavioral responses in contexts in which the subjects mixed-heritage might be expected to evoke conflict.

A qualitative analysis, incorporating socio-cultural, psychodynamic, and historical perspectives, was utilized to investigate 1) racial and cultural stereotyping, 2) a hierarchy of color and racial categorization, 3) racial tolerance, 4) Black and Jewish relations, 5) biracial (Black and Jewish) identity, as mediated by parental and familial closeness.

Factors that influenced racial/identity development in the subjects’ lives were identified. Five of the six hypotheses were supported: 1) Phenotype is related to interpersonal perception. The biracial adult phenotypically perceived as African-American is more likely to identify as such, whereas the biracial adult phenotypically perceived as White is more likely to identify as either White or “mixed.” 2) Closeness to the African-American parent is not necessary for children of mixed-race/Jewish heritage to identify with African-American heritage. 3) Closeness to the Jewish parent is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for children of mixed-race/Jewish heritage to identify with Jewish heritage. 4) For those who are close to their Jewish parent, the degree of closeness affects the degree to which they identify as Jews. 5) The extent to which respondents experience themselves as integral parts of their extended families will increase the extent to which they identify with that half of their cultural heritage. The sixth hypothesis, which stated that to the degree that respondents express negative stereotypes of one part of their heritage they will also minimize their identification with that part of their heritage was not supported due chiefly to the lack of negative stereotyping by most of the respondents.

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Grey girls: Biracial identity development and psychological adjustment among women

The Wright Institute
September 2008
141 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3306485 

Andrea Catherine Green

A dissertation submitted to the Wright Institute Graduate School of Psychology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology

The purpose of this study was to expand the body of research regarding the developmental and psychological experiences of Biracial women-women who have one Black parent and one White parent. This study examined how Biracial women identify racially (i.e., Biracial, Multiracial, Interracial, Black, White, etc.) and how this identification has impacted their psychological well-being. This study had the following purposes: (1) to determine which factors (e.g., family and others’ expectations, physical appearance) may influence racial identity choice for Biracial women, (2) to determine if Biracial women are as psychologically maladjusted as previous studies have indicated, and (3) to explore the relationship between racial identity and psychological functioning among Biracial women.

Forty-two women accessed the study, while thirty-three participants completed the online survey. The survey consisted of three measures: the Adapted Biracial Identity Development Questionnaire (ABID-Q), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). The findings indicate the following: All of the participants chose to identify as a person of color (Biracial, Interracial, Multiracial, Black); medium to large correlations were found to exist between the variables (family messages, others’ perceptions, physical appearance) and racial identity development, although not statistically significant relationships; and this sample of women were overall psychologically healthy, reporting low depression scores and high satisfaction with life scores.

Table of Contents

• ABSTRACT
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
• CHAPTER
  • PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM
    • Introduction
    • Statement of Purpose
    • Definitions of Key Terms
    • A Historical Understanding of the Presence of African-Americans in the United States of America: The African Slave Trade
    • After Slavery and the Emergence of Biracial Americans
    • A Short Story: The Researcher’s Own Journey Toward Biracial Identity Development
  • I. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
    • General Identity Development
    • Racial Identity Development Models
    • Biracial Identity Development Models
    • The Early Biracial Identity Development Models
    • The New Generation of Biracial Identity Development Models
    • Biracial Identity Development and Psychological Implications
    • Gender and Biraciality
    • Hypotheses
• METHODOLOGY
  • Participants
  • Procedure
  • Instruments
• RESULTS
• DISCUSSION
• REFERENCES
• APPENDICES
  • A. ADAPTED BIRACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
  • B. SURVEY OF BIRACIAL EXPERIENCES
  • C. BUXENBAUM BIRACIAL IDENTITY QUESTIONNAIRE
  • D. CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES DEPRESSION SCALE
  • E. SATISFACTION WITH LIFE SCALE

List of Tables and Figures

• TABLE 1. Descriptive Statistics of Sample
• TABLE 2. Statistical findings of the correlations
• TABLE 3. Means and Standard Deviations of dependent variables
• FIGURE 1. Percentages of Racial Identity

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