Perceived Benefits and Challenges of a Multiethnic-Racial Identity: Insight From Adults With Mixed Heritage

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the lived experiences of multiethnic-racial individuals (i.e., individuals with parents from different ethnic-racial groups). In-depth interviews were conducted with 29 adults from the United States with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds ranging in age from 18 to 52 (female n = 20, male n = 9). We identified a number of themes related to perceived benefits (e.g., pluralistic world views, stronger sense of self) and challenges (e.g., identity tensions, communal concerns) of having a mixed heritage. Findings are discussed in terms of four considerations for ethnic-racial identity of individuals with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds: emphasizing constellations of experiences, life-span and developmental considerations of identity, (mixed) ethnic-racial identity as constituted in interactions, and the potential promise of pluralistic world views.

KEYWORDS:

• Biracial
• ethnicity
• multiethnic
• race

Funding

The research was supported in part by the Minority Health Disparities Initiative and a grant from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Notes

1. Often, references to this population use the term biracial or, at times, biethnic. We employ the term multiethnic-racial for the following reasons. First, individuals may have more than two ethnic-racial backgrounds and, thus, the prefix “bi-” is not always appropriate. “Multi-” allows for more than two backgrounds. Second, race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably and/or there are various perspectives on race versus ethnicity. As such, using one term may privilege one perspective, deflecting from experiences of all individuals with mixed heritage. Finally, as Markus (2008) pointed out, using both terms minimizes views that distinctions among groups are based primarily on physical attributes and features.

Additional information

Funding

The research was supported in part by the Minority Health Disparities Initiative and a grant from the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.