Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-72).

Despite growing in numbers very quickly in the last half century, interracial marriage remains a disproportionately small segment of all marriages. Much research has been conducted investigating reasons for participation in interracial relationships, and the forces which impede those relationships. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I investigated several theories which had previously been researched using data of inferior quality, or only in the context of marriage relationships. I found that macrostructural and contact theories of race relations are supported strongly, and that multiracial identity has a very strong positive effect on the log odds of participation in an interracial relationship. More research is necessary to gain a full sociological understanding of interracial relationship participation as adolescents age and become young adults.

xiv, 204 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The purpose of this study was to examine counselor trainees' perceptions of adopted clients and explore how trainee perceptions may vary according to counselor trainees' adoption-related knowledge, attitudes, and clinical skills. This study extends the limited body of research examining mental health professionals' potential bias related to adopted clients in their approach to treatment and case conceptualization. Counselor trainees (N = 430) read one of six client case study vignettes that were identical except for variations on client adoption status (adopted, transracially adopted, nonadopted) and client sex (male or female), resulting in six different stimuli conditions. Group differences were examined for two independent variables (client adoption status and client sex) and dependent variables measuring counselor trainees' perceptions of clients in four areas: (a) seriousness of treatment plan and prognosis, (b) assignment of favorable or unfavorable adjectives to clients, (c) counselor trainees' assessment of client level of functioning, and (d) diagnosis behavior. Preexisting counselor adoption knowledge, attitudes, and skills were assessed by the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills of Adoption Survey (KASAS) that was created and validated specifically for this study. Results of exploratory factor analyses on the KASAS revealed a cogent, three-factor structure for the measure with high factor internal consistency. The main study research questions were then addressed within the context of several univariate general linear models. Findings demonstrated that counselor trainees perceive adopted clients generally more negatively than nonadopted clients. Participants rated same-race adopted clients as lower functioning than nonadopted clients, reported having greater overall concern for adopted clients (both same-race and transracially adopted) in comparison with nonadopted clients, and rated adopted clients' problems as more severe than those of nonadopted clients despite being presented with otherwise identical presenting issues. Descriptive data revealed that 64% of trainees reported lack of preparation to deal with or no knowledge about adoption, and 89% reported wanting additional clinical training about adoption Implications for future research and practice are presented. / Committee in charge: Benedict McWhirter, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Deanna Linville-Knobelspiesse, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Paul Yovanoff, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Ellen Herman, Outside Member, History

The identities of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal descendents in British Columbia is as varied as it is complex. In this paper I examine what caused some people of mixed Native and non-Native ancestry not to identify as Aboriginal while others did. The point of fracture for those who identify with their Aboriginal origins and those who do not can be traced to a specific time in our history. More importantly, specific variables were instrumental in causing that divergence of identity, spurred by a pervasive social stigma in colonial society. For many of mixed ancestry, the disassociation from their Aboriginal identity led to generations of silence and denial and eventually to a 'complete disappearance of race'. It was a deliberate breeding out of cultural identity through assimilative ideology and actions in order to conform to European norms. Determining what factors caused this divergence of identity for mixed-descendents entails considering why many Aboriginal women married non-Native partners in B.C. during the mid-19th century, how intermarriage affected identity formation for offspring, and what the multi-generational effects have been on the identities of mixed descendents. Today, this leaves a dilemma for those in-between who are eligible for status, and for those who are not but who choose to reconnect with, acknowledge and learn more of their ancestry. Both assertions of First Nations identity and choices to reconnect with a First Nations heritage while maintaining a non-Native identity, challenge the assumed inevitability of assimilation, and the federal government's continuing reluctance to understand the cultural significance of identification as 'Indian'. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Zine Magubane / One of the common beliefs in American society is that interracial couples transcend race. It is a curious belief considering that there is not a parallel logic that heterosexual couples transcend sexism. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 55 members of heterosexual Black/White intimate couples, I have investigated the internal dynamics involved in maintaining a relationship across race in our racially stratified society in three areas of these couples’ lives: public interactions, racial discussions, and childrearing. Most literature about interracial couples looks at race as the main determinant of the experience of these couples as a unit and as individuals. However, I argue that race, gender and racialized gender ideologies interact to shape how members of heterosexual Black/White intimate couples perceive certain social situations and their options for negotiating social norms and issues. Not only has the intersection of race and gender been under-theorized in research on interracial couples, racialized gender ideologies have been virtually absent. In particular, these racialized ideologies of gender result in situational privilege at different times for Black women and Black men, thus nuancing our understanding of how racism operates. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

This is a study of how certain cultural differences between Japanese and Americans might be problematic in Japanese/American intercultural marriage.

No description available.

I conducted this study to determine if African American men and women who marry white men and women in East Tennessee perceive experiences of isolation and alienation from their families and friends as a result of their selection of a mate from a race other than the one into which they were born. I interviewed ten individuals who are or have been interracially married. As a result of my research, I found that my results compare favorably with those of scholarly studies that discovered alienation and isolation among interracial couples. I used descriptive research methods to analyze a segment of the Appalachian population, with literature reviews of related material and in-depth interviews conducted with subjects in the East Tennessee area. My study allowed the subjects to discuss their perceptions and feelings of being a part of this growing interracial population in East Tennessee.

Geosocial apps on mobile phones use location data to introduce many young adults to other people to initiate various types of relationships. This study examined how established racial preferences affect Straight White Men's (SWM) selection decisions of potential partners in a pseudo-geosocial app when controlling for age, attractiveness, and other profile factors of potential matches. A sample comprising exclusively of SWM was selected because historically, this demographic has benefited most from gender and racial inequalities (Thompson, 2009), and they make up the largest portion of people in interracial relationships in the United States (Livingston & Brown, 2017). We found that SWM were significantly less likely to select profiles of women of color compared to profiles of White women when considering friendship, sexual encounters, dating relationships, or long-term committed relationships such as marriage. Established predictors of negative attitudes toward interracial relationships (e.g., religiosity, political beliefs) had no correlation with SWM's selection behavior in the app, but self-reported openness had a consistent correlation to higher odds of selecting women of all races.

This study explores the private and public experiences of Black/White interracial lesbian and gay couples. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory and intersectional feminism, this research focuses on how the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality influence relationship experiences and family processes in both private and public spaces for interracial same-sex couples. This study is based on 19 in-depth interviews with individuals in Black/White lesbian and gay relationships. Participants’ stories highlight intersectionality in terms of the ways interracial lesbian and gay couples navigate these interpersonal and public spaces. Participant experiences suggest that the dichotomy of private/public is often blurred, and these two spaces frequently overlap and intersect. Often what participants experience in public is then discussed and interpreted within private spaces. It is in the private space that participants work through complex issues in order to present themselves as a couple in public. Participants frequently used their public and interpersonal experiences with their partners to be reflexive of their own understandings of the social world, relationship processes, and love. Given the lack of research on same-sex, interracial families, this study makes an important contribution to sociological research on families, LGTBQ studies, and race studies.