Biracial and multiracial identity development
As a result of the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, these laws have since been changed in all U.S. states - interracial marriage is permitted.
The "One Drop Rule" was used as a way to make people of color, especially multiracial Americans feel even more inferior and confused and was put into effect in the 1920s.
[15] As a result, multiracial individuals often deal with negative outcomes such as an inferiority complex, hypersensitivity, and moodiness due to their experiences with society.
[16] That they experience uncertainty and ambiguity, which can worsen problems people face identifying with their own racial groups and others (Gibbs, 1987).
[13] Building upon the "marginal man", Stonequist (1937) explained that multiracial individuals have a heightened awareness and adaptability to both sides of racial conflict between African Americans and caucasians.
The model does not discuss factors such as racism or racial hierarchy, which can worsen feelings of marginality for biracial persons.
[17] The model fails to describe the experience of biracial people that exhibit characteristics of both races without conflict or feelings of marginality (Poston, 1990).
[15] Walker S. Carlos Poston challenged Stonequist's Marginal Man theory and claimed that existing models of minority identity development did not reflect the experiences of biracial and multiracial individuals.
Rooted in counseling psychology, the model adapts Cross’ (1987)[21] concept of reference group orientation (RGO), which includes constructions of racial identity, esteem, and ideology.
[20] However, it does not accurately address how societal racism affects the development process of people of color[20] and suggests that there is only one healthy identity outcome for biracial and multiracial individuals.
[15] Starting in the 1980s, new researchers sought to explain that mixed-race individuals comprised their own racial category, establishing an independent "multiracial identity".
[20] With a footing in cultural psychology, Root suggests that the strongest conflict in biracial and multiracial identity development is the tension between racial components within one's self.
She presents alternative resolutions for resolving ethnic identity based on research covering the racial hierarchy and history of the U.S., and the roles of family, age, or gender in the individual's development.
Root's resolutions reflect a fluidity of identity formation; rejecting the linear progression of stages followed by Poston.
[23] Miville, Constantine, Baysden and So-Lloyd (2005) discussed the following three-stage and six-stage models that biracial individuals experience.
[20] Renn used Urie Bronfenbrenner's Person, Process, Context, Time (PPCT) model to determine which ecological factors were most influential on biracial and multiracial identity development.
Cultural Knowledge is the second most important factor and can include the history that a multiracial individual knows about their various heritage groups, languages spoken, etc.
For example, racism among White students is an aspect of college peer culture that can impact an individual's perception of themself.
Renn conducted several qualitative studies across higher education institutions in the eastern and midwestern United States in 2000 and 2004.
From the analysis of written responses, observations, focus groups, and archival sources, Renn identified five non-exclusive patterns of identity among multiracial college students.
Some of these struggles include inconsistent identification within both private and public spaces, justifying identity choices, pressure to identify with one race, lack of role models, conflicting messages, and double rejection from both dominant and minority racial groups.
[27] These hardships are various and ultimately impact maturity and adjustment to society depending on the environment in which the child is raised and the interactions they had.
[29] However, multiracial individuals who are able to identify themselves accurately during their adolescent development have higher levels of efficacy, self-esteem and lower stereotype vulnerability.
A study with 3,282 students from three high schools looked at the correlation between ethnic and racial identity and self-esteem levels (Bracey, Bámaca & Umaña, 2004).
Studies show that although Biracial adolescents display less resilience to racism and have a smaller community support than Black adolescents, being bicultural introduces “a broader base of social support, more positive attitudes toward both cultures, and a strong sense of personal identity and efficacy,” which results in high self-esteem (LaFromboise, Coleman & Gerton, 1993).
LaFromboise, Coleman and Gerton use bicultural efficacy to describe an individual's confidence in his/her capability to live within two cultural groups sufficiently without altering his/her own self-identification (1993).
