“This IS Who I Am:” The Influence of Social Context and Ego Development on the Racial Identity Choice of Multiracial Young Adults and the Implications for Well-being

Abstract

This study was an exploratory analysis of how a specific personality factor (ego development) and contextual factor (racial compositions of social networks in childhood) contributes to the development of a racial identity in multiracial young adults, and furthermore, how this identity choice affects well-being. We applied Rockquemore & Brunsma’s (2002) Multidimensional Model of Biracial Identity to multiracial young adults (18-25) of many types of mixed backgrounds, and found that those who identified as Transcendent (e.g., someone who does not believe in racial in racial identities) were more likely to have grown up around people racially similar to them, while those who identified as Singular (e.g., someone who identifies as one race exclusively) were more likely to have lower ego development. Furthermore, we found that those who identified as Protean (e.g., someone who switches between different racial identifications) and as Singular were more likely to have lower well-being and those who identified as Validated Border (e.g., someone who had a uniquely multiracial identity that is validated by others) were more likely to have higher well-being, despite how they viewed their identity (measured using narrative qualities). Future research should continue to understand the multiracial experience as a whole by looking at other factors that contribute to racial identity development and how these identities relate to well-being.