Multiracial Identity Integration: Perceptions of Conflict and Distance among Multiracial Individuals
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
3-2009
Abstract
This article examines how multiracial individuals negotiate their different and sometimes conflicting racial identities. Drawing from previous work on bicultural identity integration (see Benet-Martinez and Haritatos, 2005), we proposed a new construct, multiracial identity integration (MII), to measure individual differences in perceptions of compatibility between multiple racial identities. We found that MII is composed of two independent subscales: that describes whether different racial identities are perceived as disparate, and that describes whether different racial identities are perceived as in conflict. We also found that recalling positive multiracial experiences increased MII, while recalling negative multiracial experiences decreased MII. These findings have implications for understanding the psychological well-being of multiracial individuals, and the development of social policy and programs catered to this population.
Discipline
Multicultural Psychology | Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Journal of Social Issues
Volume
65
Issue
1
First Page
51
Last Page
68
ISSN
0022-4537
Identifier
10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01587.x
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
CHENG, Chi-Ying, & LEE, Fiona.(2009). Multiracial Identity Integration: Perceptions of Conflict and Distance among Multiracial Individuals. Journal of Social Issues, 65(1), 51-68.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/621
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01587.x
Included in
Multicultural Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons