The immigration debate is not new to the United States; however, today’s heated discussions include strong anti-Mexican sentiments (Bean & Stone, 2012; Hughey, 2012). As Americans attempt to secure borders in an effort to insure safety and economic security, current legislation includes elements of racial profiling against Mexicans that could extend to those who possess varying levels of Mexican blood since physical characteristics tend to guide racial labeling (Aoki & Johnson, 2009; Bernal, 2002; Fernandez, 2002; Quiñones et al, 2011). As an individual of Mexican and White bloodlines, racial categorization has resulted in internal struggles and social dilemmas for me. The purpose of this dissertation was to gain understanding of my personal multiracial identity development within various social contexts; this study fulfills the requests of theorists seeking to understand multiracial identity development through self-analysis over a lifetime (Binning et al, 2009; Charmaraman & Grossman, 2010; Cheng & Lee, 2009; Miville et al, 2005). This qualitative dissertation used critical autoethnography as its methodology and theories of multiracial identity (Poston, 1990; Root, 1996; Rockquemore, Brunsma, & Delgado, 2009) and LatCrit (Aoki & Johnson, 2008; Solórzano & Bernal, 2001; Tate, 1997; Valdes, 1997; Villalpando, 2004; Yosso, 2005) while considering the impact of Whiteness Studies (Jay, 2005; Jeffries, 2012; Yeung, Spanierman & Landrum-Brown, 2013), and the cultural process of naming (Boris, 2005). The research questions guiding this dissertation were: How have I internalized and interpreted encounters related to racial identification, and what does being multiracial mean to me? The presentation of findings included narrative analysis of visual and audio data sets located on a personal website that accompanies this study; online presentation of this study provides an opportunity to explore multiracial identity development in a space that has potential for impacting change due to popularity and accessibility (Bamford, 2005; Lang, 2002; Lange, 2008). Findings revealed complexities and fluidity in multiracial identity development as well as problems of self-identifying as monoracial. The significance of this study is that it will contribute to ongoing discussions of multiracial identity development as well as add to the growing body of literature related to LatCrit Theory, Whiteness Studies, and autoethnographic studies.

Prior to this exploratory study, issues of multiracial identity development and imposed identity had not been explored in great detail. This study sought to expand the current knowledge base by offering an examination of a) multiracial identity development for different bi/multiracial backgrounds, b) the influence of the perception of race on social interactions (imposed identity), and c) racial identification in the public and private spheres from the perspective of multi-racial individuals. A literature based survey was developed and piloted with an expert panel to increase face and content validity. For the larger study, participants were recruited using snowball and convenience sampling. Forty-five participants provided in-depth interviews and an additional 166 completed the online version of the survey. Respondents were primarily female (n = 132; 83%), 26-30 years old (n = 37; 23%), from the South (n = 57; 36%), unmarried (n = 106; 67%), childless (n = 97, 63%) and reported a yearly household income of over $95,001 (n = 36; 24%). Findings from this study support identity development literature as respondents indicated family members were most responsible for their perceptions of race, even in mixed-raced families. Respondents also indicated they had experienced imposed identity based on what others believed their race to be. Perceptions of power influenced whether or not respondents corrected others' mistaken assumptions. Additionally, respondents indicated their belief that, despite their variances in skin tone, we do not live in a color-blind society, despite widely spread claims that we live in a post-racial society. Further, respondents indicated racial cues (such as skin tone, hair texture, facial structure) are still used to categorize people according to race. Qualitative data provided specific examples of when and how multiracial respondents had experienced racism and/or benefitted from others' beliefs about their race based on skin tone alone. For example, one bi-racial respondent indicated he was placed in advanced classes in high school because he appeared as only Asian, while another indicated his race was questioned at a government agency because of how he looked, but had never experienced that problem when conducting the same business with his White mother present.

Scholars debate the importance of multiracial identity recognition as the increasing number of self-identified multiracial individuals challenges traditional racial categories. Two reasons justify the count of multiracial individuals on censuses. One is the right to self-identification, derived from personal autonomy. The other is social: the category allows governments to accurately assess affirmative action programs’ results and society’s acceptance of multiracialism. Critical Race Theory and Critical Mixed-Race Studies serve as basis for my analysis over multiracial identity formation and its recognition. Comparing multiracialism in America and Brazil, I verify that both countries are in different stages regarding categorization and social acceptance of multiracial identity. Neither uses multiracial data for social programs, though. I conclude that the growth of mixed-race individuals makes the identification of race-based social programs’ beneficiaries difficult, which demands the use of diverse criteria. Moreover, official recognition can serve to improve the way society deals with race.

Thesis advisor: Usha Tummala-Narra / Thesis advisor: Belle Liang / In 2015, one-in-seven U.S. infants was Multiracial, nearly triple the amount in 1980, and one of the fastest growing subgroups of this population is Black/White Multiracial people (Pew Research Center, 2015). Black/White Multiracial emerging adult women have not received adequate attention in research, despite the growing population. Black/White Multiracial women receive implicit and explicit messages about their racialized physical features including skin color, hair, and body size from family members and peers (Root, 1998; Kelch-Oliver & Leslie, 2007; Buckley & Carter, 2008). Additionally, remnants of racist and sexist stereotypes of Black women such as the Jezebel, a hypersexualized archetype of a light-skinned Black woman, still permeate U.S. culture and impact Black women (Watson et al., 2012). However, there is no research that explores how such interactions with family members, peers, and the larger social context impact Black/White women’s perceptions of themselves and relationships with others. The present study conducted semi-structured interviews of 10 Black/White Multiracial emerging adult women to explore the socialization messages that they receive around race, gender, and body, and how those messages influence their self-perceptions and relationships. Through conventional content analysis, the findings of the present study revealed themes including a lack of discussion about race within families, gendered, racialized messages, often rooted in anti-Blackness, about the bodies of Black/White Multiracial women within families and peer groups, intrapsychic conflict to make meaning of conflicting messages, authentic relationships, and the expression of identity. Implications for clinical practice, community level interventions and research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

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.

xvi, 135 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Research has suggested that multiracial individuals may vary in how they racially identify depending on the context in which they operate (Renn, 2004; Root, 1998, 2003). To examine this assertion, multiracial identity and variance in multiracial identity were examined in this exploratory study of a nationally representative sample of 199 multiracial college students. Additionally, the relationship of multiracial identity variance with factors common to adult transitional development and to the college student experience, including social connectedness, various forms of facilitative support, college adjustment, and depression, were also examined in this study. Sex differences among these study variables were also explored. The results of descriptive analyses revealed that this generally connected, adjusted, and non-depressed sample consistently varied their racial identity depending on their context. Results of Pearson product-moment correlations among study variables for the whole sample demonstrated that this multiracial identity variance was not related to adjustment, social connectedness, facilitative supports, or depression. But results differed when breaking down the sample by sex. For males, increased variance in multiracial identity across contexts was related to lower perceived availability of, support from, and connectedness to student support groups. For females, increased multiracial identity variance was related to lower participation in ethnic and cultural student support groups. A series of subsequent simultaneous multiple regression analyses revealed that increased involvement in one form of facilitative support in the college environment-ethnic/cultural student support groups- actually predicted lower multiracial identity variance for the sample. Regarding connectedness, for the entire sample, higher social connectedness was related to higher college adjustment but lower participation in ethnic and cultural student support groups. Sex differences also emerged for connectedness. For males, social connectedness was directly related to availability of student groups, adjustment, and institutional attachment, and for females social connectedness was directly related to college adjustment, but inversely related to participation in ethnic/cultural groups. Findings of this study are consistent with multiracial identity theory, social connectedness theory, and with research related to college student and adult transitional development, and confirm that multiracial individuals vary their identity based on social context. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed. / Adviser: Benedict T. McWhirter

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Text in English / In this study, an attempt was made to examine the impact that the multiracial identity is having on the institutional Church and in its attempts to address the problem of racism in the United States. An effort will be made to explore the emergence of anti-racist paradigms that both- move outside the social construction of race and an ideology of racial hatred and which empower people of all hues, ethnic an linguistic groups. Particular emphasis will be placed on those approaches which de-emphasize majoritianism and a need to assert one's superior, moral, historic and pragmatic claims. A strong challenge is given to the Church to re-orientate its imagination away from the chimera of achieving a physically integrated institution in a color blind society and towards a clearer vision of empowerment in a fair and just society, incorporating pluralism in a shared framework. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Text in English / In this study, an attempt was made to examine the impact that the multiracial identity is having on the institutional Church and in its attempts to address the problem of racism in the United States. An effort will be made to explore the emergence of anti-racist paradigms that both- move outside the social construction of race and an ideology of racial hatred and which empower people of all hues, ethnic an linguistic groups. Particular emphasis will be placed on those approaches which de-emphasize majoritianism and a need to assert one's superior, moral, historic and pragmatic claims. A strong challenge is given to the Church to re-orientate its imagination away from the chimera of achieving a physically integrated institution in a color blind society and towards a clearer vision of empowerment in a fair and just society, incorporating pluralism in a shared framework. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)