The Formation of Multiracial Identities

Posted in Identity Development/Psychology, Papers/Presentations, United States on 2009-10-01 01:21Z by Steven

The Formation of Multiracial Identities

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting,
Sheraton Boston and the Boston Marriott Copley Place
Boston, MA
2008-07-31

Crystal Bedley
Rutgers University

Since the 1970s, research on the multiracial population has been largely theoretically driven without substantial empirical investigation into how mixed-race people form a multiracial identity. This project articulates the historical, political, and cultural contexts that multiracial people experience living in the United States in order to build a foundation for exploring the particular social and cultural factors that influence multiracial identity development in mixed-race persons. In addition, this project bridges the psychological and sociological literatures on the multiracial population through its discussion of social/ecological influences on identity and identity theory.  The author will conduct in-depth interviews (starting this spring) with 30-50 mixed-race respondents to better understand not only the multiracial identity formation process, but also to grasp the ways in which Hispanic/Latino identities complicate the formation of a multiracial identity, as well as exploring how context influences the expression of this identity.

Read the entire paper here.

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