1. Starr Eshleman, Christina Martin, Emani Wade,
Ashlyn Brady, Latisha Jones, and Autumn Moody
References:
Bratter, J. & Heard, H.E. (2009). Mother's, father's, or both? Parental gender
and parent-child interactions in the racial classification of adolescents.
Sociological Forum, 24(3), pp. 658-688.
Khanna, K. & Johnson, C. (2010). Passing as black: Racial identity work
among biracial Americans. Social Psychology Quarterly, 73(4), pp. 380-
397.
Thomas, G., & Asunka, K. 1995. "Employment and Quality of Life of Minority
and Women Faculty in a Predominantly White Institution." In G. Thomas
(Ed.), Race and Ethnicity In America: Meeting the Challenge in The 21st
Century(pp. 295-308). Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
Xie, Y. & Goyette, K. (1997). The racial identification of biracial children with
one Asian parent: Evidence from the 1990 Census. Social Forces, 76(2),
pp. 547-570.
Introduction
•Racial identity can be described as a person’s
self-identification with one ethnic group over
another based on the closeness they feel with
and social membership in the group (Xie &
Goyette, 1997).
•Bratter and Heard (2009) suggest that biracial
and multiracial individuals currently have more
autonomy in their racial identification than ever
before and this “choice” has brought a shift in
the way race frames their personal identity.
•Khanna & Johnson (2014) reveal that being
biracial could prove to be both mentally and
emotionally exhausting for some who would
like to embrace both cultural aspects of their
identity without being cautious of rejection.
•While there have been numerous studies on
biracial identity, few have actually asked
biracial students, directly, about their biracial
classification and its impact on their
identification.
•Even fewer have explored feelings of
distinctiveness that may be associated with
their solo status in colleges and universities.
•This pilot study examined biracial students’
identification as well as feelings of
distinctiveness and satisfaction:
• By comparing African-American and
Biracial students at traditionally white
institutions to determine if biracial students
felt more or less distinct.
• By exploring biracial students’ feelings
about their biracial classification and their
identification with each parent’s race.
Method
Participants
The participants in our study consisted
of 29 college students (20 African
American; 9 biracial) recruited from a
larger study on distinctiveness and
satisfaction at a small mid-Atlantic
university.
Procedure
Participants were asked to complete a
survey that addressed feelings of
distinctiveness assessed as racial
awareness, accountability and
frequency of solo status in their
classes.
Biracial students were instructed to
complete an additional set of nine
questions that assessed perceptions of
their biracial identity.
Questions were scored on a seven
point Likert-type scale with 1 meaning
strongly disagree, and 7 meaning
strongly agree with each statement.
Several questions were combined to
form the constructs of racial awareness
and accountability, while frequency of
solo status and satisfaction were
measured with a single question (See
Sample Items in table below.)
Results
Distinctiveness and Satisfaction
•Table 2 reports the distinctiveness and
satisfaction descriptive statistics for
biracial and African-American students.
•Results showed significant differences
in reported feelings of distinctiveness on
two constructs: racial awareness (p = .
01) and accountability (p = .001).
•African-American students reported
feeling greater racial awareness and
accountability than biracial students.
•There was no difference in reported
feelings in frequency of solo status in
classes or feelings of satisfaction with
their university experience
•Both groups indicated somewhat that
they are the only members of their race
in classes and were satisfied with their
university experience.
Biracial Identity
•Biracial students reported that they felt
pressured to categorize themselves as
one race over the other and that people
often made assumptions about their
racial identity.
•Biracial students did not seem to feel
that their racial status was a major factor
in their personal identity.
•With regard to identification with one
parent’s race over the other, biracial
students were more likely to indicate that
they identified with their mother’s race
(M = 4.63) than their father’s race (M =
2.88).
Discussion
•Consistent with suggestions by Thomas
& Asunka (1995), Biracial students at
traditionally white institutions (TWIs) did
not report feeling more distinct than
African-American students.
•Similar levels of satisfaction with the
university was reported by both groups,
which may be important in for student
retention and academic performance.
•Contrary to previous research (Bratter &
Heard, 2009), biracial students did not
report that racial status was not a major
factor in their personal identity.
•Also, prior research indicates that
biracial students identify more with
father’s race than mother’s race,
however, this study did not support those
findings.
•A limitation of this study is small sample
size.
Biracial Students:
Distinctiveness, Satisfaction & Identity
Abstract
Twenty-nine students (20 African-American; 9
Biracial) completed the Distinctiveness and
Satisfaction Survey. Biracial students were
asked to complete an additional survey with ten
items related to their feelings about their
biracial classification. Feelings of
distinctiveness and satisfaction as experienced
by African-Americans and biracial college
students at traditionally white institutions
revealed greater feelings of distinctiveness for
African-American students in two areas:
feelings of racial awareness and accountability.
There was no difference in frequency of solo
status in classes; with both groups agreeing
somewhat that they are the only member of
their race in classes. Biracial students reported
that they often felt pressure to categorize
themselves as one race over the other. Biracial
students were invited to participate in a focus
group on biracial identity. These findings have
implications for retention in higher education.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Drs. Shelia Greenlee & Dorothy
Doolittle for overseeing and aiding us in our research.
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics for African-American and Biracial Students
on Distinctiveness and Satisfaction
African-American Biracial
Students Students
* p = .01 ** p = .001
2.21Satisfaction 5.95 1.15 5.11
2.09
Accountability** 10.05 2.33 5.01 3.2
Frequency 5.25 1.65 4.11
3.32
Mean SD Mean SD
Racial
Awareness*
11.95 4.01 8.01
Sample Items from
Distinctiveness and Satisfaction Survey
Constructs
Racial Awareness (alpha = .69)
My ethnicity isan obvious characteristic of myself right now
I would feel more comfortable in classif more of my classmates
were membersof my ethnic group
I feel that I need to help people of my ethnic group become successful.
Accountability (alpha = .66)
I feel that I need to help people of my ethnic group become successful.
My actions have consequences for other people who are the same ethnicity as I am.
Frequency of Racial Solo Status
I often feel that I am the only member of my race in classes.
Satisfaction with University
I am satisfied with my university experience.
Biracial Identity Items
I feel pressure to categorize myself as one race over the other.
I often hide or don't reveal my biracial background.
My racial statusis a major factor in my personal identity.