Identity problems in biracial youth

Posted in Articles, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Teaching Resources, United States on 2010-04-11 22:57Z by Steven

Identity problems in biracial youth

The Leader
University of Minnesota College of Education & Human Development
Fall 2004

Charlote M. Nitardy, Early Childhood Assessment Program Coordinator
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, Minnesota

While there is little data on the number of biracial children in the US, there is a consensus among demographers that we are experiencing a “biracial baby boom.” According to the 1990 U.S. Census, there were approximately 800,000 interracial families with about one million biracial children in the country (Herring, 1995). Biracial youth have a very unique problem that most of their peers never experience: racial identity. These biracial youth have difficulties identifying who they are in our society.

Historically, children of mixed parentage were identified with the parent of color; if one parent was black, then the child was considered black. While such simplification may have been adequate in the past, studies are showing that more and more biracial children in today’s society are experiencing identity problems…

Read the entire article here.

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