Biracial Identity Theory and Research Juxtaposed with Narrative Accounts of a Biracial Individual |
Biracial Identity Theory and Research Juxtaposed with Narrative Accounts of a Biracial Individual
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
Volume 27, Number 5 (October 2010)
pages 355-364
DOI: 10.1007/s10560-010-0209-6
Simon Nuttgens, Professor of Psychology
Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada
With the increase in mixed-racial parentage in North America comes increased scholarly activity intended to bring greater understanding to the biracial experience. Such efforts, while undoubtedly informative and helpful, fall short when set aside the actual narrative accounts of a biracial individual’s life experience. In this paper I first explore the typical, negative, portrayal of the biracial experience found within social scientific literature, and then compare this with the narrative accounts of a biracial individual. Through this exercise it is shown that factors such as the specific racial parentage and socio-cultural context can have a positive effect on what usually is viewed as a problematic psychosocial experience.
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Tags: Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, Simon Nuttgens