Multiracial Individuals

Historical Considerations

In 2000, for the first time in U.S. history, multiracial individuals were able to identify themselves as such in the U.S. Census. This event marked a substantial movement forward in recognizing the civil rights and social realities of multiracial people. The United States has a long history of racism and racial discrimination, and multiracial people have been affected by this history in a variety of ways. Historical examples include the use of the “One-Drop Rule” as a legal definition of racial heritage, as well as laws passed by state legislatures that made interracial marriages illegal for many generations. The One-Drop Rule was used as early as 1660 in laws that attempted to maintain or promote so-called racial purity among European immigrants. Based on the predominant belief that both “Negroes and Indians” were subhuman, the notion that a single drop of blood from an African American person would “contaminate” a person of European descent was codified into law by most states as the rule of hypodescent. The Supreme Court struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in 1967; the last antimiscegenation state law was repealed in 2001.

Thus, the 2000 U.S. Census marked a critical point at which multiracial people could finally begin to gain governmental legitimacy with respect to their rich and complex racial heritage. Indeed, according to the 2000 Census, nearly 7 million people–2.4% of the total U.S. population–checked more than one racial category.

Given the sociohistorical context described here, it is not surprising that there has been little research on the psychology and education of multiracial people. Only within the past two decades has most of the theory and research describing the unique experiences of multiracial people been proposed and conducted. With the publication of several book-length works, pioneering researchers have recently begun to present a variety of themes, methodologies, findings, and theories regarding multiracial people in a single forum.

Myths about Multiracial Individuals

In light of the controversial and ambiguous sociohistorical context in which multiracial people have existed, a number of myths have been promoted about multiracial people.

• Myth: The stereotype of the “tragic mulatto” or the “marginal person” refers to the idea that multiracial people are destined to experience long-lasting social and psychological effects because they cannot identify with a clearly defined racial group. Reality: Much research in this area has found few psychological adjustment problems among this population.
• Myth: Multiracial individuals are forced to choose or identify with only one racial group. This refers to a related concept by which social groups have been defined along rigid racial lines in the United States because of the history of segregation and legalized discrimination. As a result, individuals who have a multiracial heritage are forced to choose one racial group over another, also leading to the denial of one's total heritage. Reality: Recent research indicates that the racial identities of multiracial people are fluid and dynamic and transcend racial group labels.
• Myth: Multiracial people do not like to discuss their racial identity. This myth refers to the notion that because of the social and psychological difficulty of growing up multiracial and denying part of one's heritage, multiracial people learn to avoid discussion of this [Page 329]emotionally evocative topic. Reality: Most research on multiracial people has been qualitative in nature, involving narratives and personal stories of multiracial people to derive a variety of identity models.

Psychosocial Adjustment of Multiracial Individuals

A common myth about multiracial people is that because of their unique or multiracial heritage (and the presumed lack of a coherent or stable community), they are at risk of becoming confused and maladjusted. Thus, a primary area of research has focused on the psychological functioning of multiracial people. This research portrays multiracial people as generally well-functioning, although at some psychological risk. For example, several recent studies used a subsample of self-identified multiracial adolescents culled from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results showed that biracial participants have higher rates of conduct problems, school problems, somatization, low self-worth, and counseling use. However, other studies have shown few or no differences, leading one researcher to comment on the resilience of multiracial individuals in the face of multiple stressors. Unfortunately, a major limitation of existing studies in this area is that racial identity (i.e., race as a psychological construct) has not been included as a variable; instead, most research uses a self-identified biracial label (i.e., race as a demographic label). Thus, little is known about the direct impact, both positive and negative, that being multiracial has on psychological functioning.

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