“WHAT ARE YOU?”
INTERVIEWS WITH BIRACIAL ADOLESCENTS
ABOUT THEIR RACIAL IDENTITY
DEVELOPMENT
By Kerri Bowby
INTRODUCTION
o
Interracial marriage population: 4.9% (2000
census).
o
1967 Loving v. Virginia decision
o
Definition of biracial: “someone having a
biological parents from two different racial or
ethnic groups”(Harris 2002).
o
Biracial population: 2.4% (6,826,228), 42%
under the age of 18 (Harris 2002).
THESIS
Given that little research has been
conducted on biracial youth, this
study examines the social factors
that influence biracial identity
development. Three main aspects
are examined: family, peers, and
education.
PREVIOUS LITERATURE

Family:
Goyette (1997)
 Wardle (1989)


Peer Culture:
Renn (2003)
 Grapes(2002)


Multicultural Education:
Morrison (2001)
 Lee, Guang-lea, Johnson, Willis (2000)

TAJFEL’S SOCIAL IDENTITY
THEORY(1979)



“Social identity is the individuals
self-concept derived from
perceived membership of social
groups” (Hoga & Vaughan 2002).
Group behavior: composed of
three components:
 Categorization
 Identification
 Comparison
“After being categorized of a
group membership, individuals
through the process of selfcategorization of identification, an
identity is formed” (Stets 2000:
224).
METHODOLOGY



Participants
 Four Latino-American biracial young adults (non-random)
 Two male/two female
 Ages 20-22
Procedure:
 Qualitative study
 30-50 minute Interviews
 18-20 open-ended/close-ended questions
 Gatekeeper
Limitations:
 Face-to-face
 My racial identity
 Emotional conflict with past experiences
 Small scale
FINDINGS
o Respondents’ Racial Identity Construction
o
All four respondents reported that they first
noticed differences between themselves and
people of different ethnic groups in grade
school.
o
“ I remember in elementary I had a lot of African
American friends and I wanted my hair to look
like theirs and that is when I noticed something
was different”
A majority of the interviewees attributed their
family (parents or primary caregiver) as a major
influence on their racial identification.
All respondents claimed that their parents did not
put a lot of significance on race and as a result,
acknowledged their dual ethnicity as “white and
Hispanic,” but ethnically identified themselves as
white.
o
o
FINDINGS
o
Peer Culture
o
All four respondents reported no incidents
of discrimination due to their ethnicity.
However, they felt somewhat detached
from certain racial/ethnic groups because
they were “mixed” and lacked certain racial
characteristics such as language.
o “I feel like I don’t fit in with the hardcore
Guatemalans because I don’t speak
Spanish so it’s kind of hard for me to be
like talking to them in their native
language so I can’t really fit it.”
o All four respondents claimed to socialize
with people of other races except full
Hispanics.
FINDINGS
o Education: Experiences and Opinions
o
o
Favorite teachers in high school were not
based on how well they integrated diversity
into class material, but rather how relaxed
and entertaining they were.
When asked about their familiarity with
multicultural education directly, their
response was encouraging and favorable to
the idea.
o
“There are going to be other races and they are
going to find out sooner or later that they aren’t
the only ones that look like that. There are
people that look like them and there are people
that look different from them, there are people
with different skin tones and customs and
styles of life.”
DISCUSSION



A biracial child’s perception of self identity is
primarily influenced by the parents and the
importance they place on individual race.
By applying Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory, racial
identity development can be better understood.
Opinions regarding Multicultural Education
suggested it could be beneficial if applied to the
current curriculum.