Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / Rudabeh Nazarinia-Roy / Racial identity of mixed race individuals is important to understand because of the growing proportion of the population with parents from different racial groups. Having more than one racial heritage has a direct impact on how these children are seen by others as well as how they understand and encounter the world around them. Parents socialize their children in matters of race and discrimination that can impact their racial identity development, which is a component of their overall identity development. The aim of this study was explore how multiracial children are socialized and the impact of that socialization on racial identity formation from a heuristic perspective. Heuristic inquiry is a facet of phenomenology that seeks to understand the researcher’s experience of the phenomenon; therefore, I provided data on my experiences with raising a mixed-race child in a monoracial family. Two other families experiencing the same phenomenon were also interviewed. Themes related to racial profiling, parental perception of the mixed race child’s personality, skin tone, level of respect, and parenting were identified through the five-step analysis process recommended by Moustakas for heuristic inquiry, including immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and creative synthesis. This study highlights relevant aspects in the lives of mixed-race children, how that impacts the way society views mixed-race individuals, and how those individuals encounter the world around them.

Framing a Blaxicana Identity: A Cultural Ethnography of Family, Race and Community in the Valley Homes, Lincoln Heights, Ohio, 1955-1960 (Blaxicana Identity) is set within the construct of identity formation, against a backdrop of color and culture clash, and the social construction of race. The author's narrative will constitute contextual introductions to discussion topics and iterate direct correlations of her lived experience to larger community and cultural accounts that helped to shape aspects of her Blaxicana identity. The individual and community perceptions of what it means and what it feels like to grow up Negro, Mexican and female in an all black town will determine the scope and complexity of the identity formation factors that may be brought forth in Blaxicana Identity. Geographically situated in the Valley Homes housing projects located in Lincoln Heights, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, this ethnography will engage the area's background, environment and residents in a dialogue with the larger arenas of race and racism, history, migration, critical race theory, interracial marriage, cultural studies and black towns as they inform the aspects involved in the creation of the author's Blaxicana identity. This multi-perspective engagement will produce a cultural ethnographic portrayal of the Valley Homes, its residents and the author and comprise the ways in which the social and cultural phenomenon of mixed-race identity may be constructed, observed and understood - a depiction that may differ from the historical concepts of identity formation based on color and race. This research will draw its conclusions regarding the construction of a Blaxicana identity by using a critical, self-reflexive method of inquiry that incorporates the author's memories, impressions and artifacts from the 1950's. The author's interracial family experience, defined by an African American father from Nashville, Tennessee and a Mexican mother from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, presents the opportunity to examine what was then, considering the time and place, an uncommon combination.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Carla Jones / Multiracial identity development has been a topic of study that has slowly begun to grow interest in academia. While it is important to acknowledge the process of multiracial identity development in and of itself, it is also essential to understand how this development is influenced by different ecological factors in higher education, such as when and where a multiracial student may encounter instances of marginalization, as well as instances of mattering. One of the more prominent facets of this ecology is race-oriented student services, which can provide either a space in which multiracial students feel marginalized, or one in which they feel that they matter. This report will examine multiracial identity development and why it is needed in order to better understand multiracial students’ needs, as well as how race-oriented student services affect development and expression of their identity.

Previous research has indicated that racial identity invalidation has negative effects on multiracial individuals. Using a 2x2 mixed factorial design, this study investigates the effects of who does the invalidating (between subjects: Ingroup A vs. Unspecified Outgroup) and which of a multiracial individual’s strongest two racial identities is being invalidated (within subjects: Racial Identity A vs. Racial Identity B). Participants were 65 multiracial individuals recruited via social media to complete an online Qualtrics survey. Participants’ levels of psychological distress and identification with their strongest racial group were measured after they read each of two racial identity invalidation scenarios. We found that multiracial individuals reported higher levels of distress when the source of invalidation was an ingroup member belonging to their strongest racial ingroup and the basis of invalidation was the shared racial identity. Additionally, controlling for baseline racial group identification, multiracial individuals reported lower identification with their strongest racial group when the source of invalidation was an ingroup member belonging to their strongest racial ingroup and the basis of invalidation was the shared racial identity. Therefore, it is not necessarily the source or basis of invalidation that matters, but rather the interaction between them – racial identity invalidation only has negative effects on multiracial individuals when the identity of the source of invalidation matches the racial identity being invalidated.

This thesis draws from ten semi-structured interviews with multiracial men in Toronto, Canada. It is an exploratory study that examines how participants experience race, masculinities and identities. Multiracial identities challenge popular notions of racial categories and expose social processes of racialization and the shifting nature of social identities. I explore how gender impacts participants’ experiences of multiple, fluid or shifting racial identities, and the importance of context in determining how they identify themselves. Participants also discussed the impact of multiculturalism and their understandings of racism in Canada. There were differences in the experiences of Black multiracial men and non-Black multiracial men in terms of how gender and race impact their lives. These differences imply that the colour line in Canada is shifting and that categories like ‘whiteness’ are being redefined. Analyses of these topics are taken up from an anti-racist and critical mixed race studies perspective.

This thesis draws from ten semi-structured interviews with multiracial men in Toronto, Canada. It is an exploratory study that examines how participants experience race, masculinities and identities. Multiracial identities challenge popular notions of racial categories and expose social processes of racialization and the shifting nature of social identities. I explore how gender impacts participants’ experiences of multiple, fluid or shifting racial identities, and the importance of context in determining how they identify themselves. Participants also discussed the impact of multiculturalism and their understandings of racism in Canada. There were differences in the experiences of Black multiracial men and non-Black multiracial men in terms of how gender and race impact their lives. These differences imply that the colour line in Canada is shifting and that categories like ‘whiteness’ are being redefined. Analyses of these topics are taken up from an anti-racist and critical mixed race studies perspective.

This study explores the lived experiences of six Canadian Chinese-White heterosexual couples throughout their relationship lifespans. Interethnic coupling of this ethnic/racial configuration is on a steady rise, and mental health professionals can expect to find themselves working with this population in increasing numbers. In light of Canada’s unique history, ethnic distribution, and official policy of multiculturalism, it adds a much needed perspective to the vast majority of studies that focus on Black-White couples in an American context. Grounded in a constructivist-interpretive paradigm, this study uses narrative inquiry to arrive at six distinctive narratives, each with their central themes and a relationship life map to situate lived experiences in time, place, and forms of interaction. An across-narratives analysis was subsequently performed to identify overarching themes and subthemes across the six narratives. The findings suggest that couples shared similar experiences around their families; feelings of compatibility; and cultural differences around religion, food, and language. Further, they shared their insights on relationship maintenance processes with respect to the maintenance of family cohesion and management of differences. Overall findings in this study were consolidated to generate a co-constructive, contextualized, and strength-based model to understanding the lived experiences of Canadian Chinese-White heterosexual couples. This conceptual model is a response to the traditionally problem-focused literature on interethnic couple relationships, situates lived experiences in the multilayered contexts in which they are embedded, and highlights couples’ innate abilities to co-construct a relational narrative that embodies their shared realities and insights and sense of “we-ness.” Clinical applications of the conceptual model are discussed, along with limitations associated with this study and recommendations for future research.

This paper is an exploration of the meaning of mixed racial identity and the representation of such experience by multiracial artists. By analyzing the art of Amalia Mesa Bains, Richard Alexander Lou, and Samantha Wall, I examine how such self identified artists address the concept of the mixed race and in-between experience noting whether they take a celebratory approach or more resistive approach. I then expand on why I chose this topic and why I used specific methods to create and depict my own personal multiracial experience.

Ethnic identity is an essential component of youths' sense of self and is influenced by social relationships and experiences. Despite the large amount of time adolescents spend in the school environment and with their peers, little is known about the influence of the overall school context on ethnic identity development. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of sixth grade school context (defined by negative peer relationships and school environment) on ethnic identity development and depression in ninth grade. Using cross-lagged analysis, the bidirectional impact of discrimination experiences on ethnic identity development was also explored. These relationships were also examined separately for European American youth, youth of color with one ethnicity, and multiethnic adolescents. For all adolescents, less negative peer relationships were related to higher ethnic identity level. Ethnic identity was also positively associated with later adolescent depression. In addition, school environment was related to ethnic identity development for European American and adolescents of color; for youth of color with one ethnicity, ethnic identity also predicted later depression levels. School context was not found to be associated with ethnic identity development for multiethnic adolescents, although negative relationships were related to higher depression levels for this group. Finally, the cross-lagged model of ethnic identity and discrimination suggested no bidirectional influence between these two variables. This study supports existing studies on the importance of ethnic identity on adolescent development. It also provides much needed knowledge of how the school context contributes to adolescent ethnic identity and depression. Furthermore, these findings contribute to the growing body of literature on the developmental trajectories of multiethnic adolescents. Findings from this study have implications for intervening at the school level. Promoting cultural sensitivity among students and staff can decrease negative peer interactions (e.g., bullying) and other negative social experiences, thereby decreasing the risk of poor academic and psychological outcomes for adolescents at risk of experiencing adversity.

abstract: Scholarly interest in racial socialization is growing, but researchers' understanding of how and when racial socialization relates to subjective well-being is underdeveloped, particularly for multiracial populations. The present study investigated the possibility that the relationship of racial socialization to subjective well-being is mediated by racial identification and that this mediation depends on physical racial ambiguity. Specifically, the proposed study used a moderated mediation model to examine whether the indirect relation of egalitarian socialization to subjective well-being through racial identification is conditional on physical racial ambiguity among 313 multiracial individuals. Results suggested egalitarian socialization was positively correlated with subjective well-being. The results provided no support for the moderated mediation hypothesis. The present study examined the complex interaction between racial socialization, racial identification, physical racial ambiguity, and subjective well-being among multiracial individuals. Despite receiving no support for the moderated mediation hypothesis, this research helped to further explicate a distinct pathway through which egalitarian socialization impacts well-being through racial identification for multiracial individuals independent of physical racial ambiguity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2016