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= Biracial Identity Development = Biracial identity development includes self-identification in, and psychological connectedness with two racial groups. Biracial identity development is described as a process across the life span that is variable based on individual family structure, geographic location, opportunities for exploration, etc.

Background
Racial identity development is important because it defines an individual’s attitudes about self-identity, and directly affects the individual’s attitudes about other individuals both within their racial group(s) and others. Racial identity development often requires individuals to interact with concepts of inequality and racism that shape racial understandings in America.

Research on biracial identity development has been influenced by previous research on racial and ethnic identity development. Most of this initial research is focused on Black racial identity development (Cross, 1971) and Minority identity development (Morten and Atkinson, 1983) .

Socio-Cultural History
Like other identities, mixed race people have not been easily accepted in the United States. Numerous laws and practices prohibited interracial sex, marriage, and therefore, mixed race children. Below are some landmark moments in mixed race history.

Miscegenation Laws
Anti-miscegenation laws or miscegenation laws enforced racial segregation through marriage and intimate relationships by criminalizing interracial marriage. Certain communities also prohibit having sexual intercourse with a person of another race. These laws have since been changed in all U.S. states - interracial marriage is permitted. The last states to change these laws were South Carolina and Alabama. South Carolina made this change in 1998 and in 2000, Alabama became the last state in the United States to legalize interracial marriage.

1967 Loving vs. Virginia
Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) is a landmark civil rights decision of the United States Supreme Court, which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage.

"One Drop Rule"
The one-drop rule is a historical social and legal principle of racial classification in the United States. The one drop rule asserts that any person with one ancestor of African ancestry is considered to be Black. This idea was influenced by concerns of Blacks passing as White in the U.S. deeply segregated south. In this time, classification as Black rather than mulatto or mixed became prevalent.

Hypodescent
The anthropologica l concept of hypodescent refers to the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union between different socioeconomic or ethnic groups to the group with the lower status. As Whites are historically a dominant social group people of Black/White ancestry would be categorized as Black using this concept.

The U.S. Census
Before 2000 the U.S. census people were only able to select one race when submitting census data. This means that there is no statistical information regarding particular racial mixes and their frequency in the U.S. before this time. In 2000 and 2010 the question regarding race allowed for the selection of one or more racial categories.

Demographics
The population of biracial people in the U.S. is growing. A comparison of data from the 2000 and 2010 United States Census indicates an overall population increase in individuals identifying with two or more races from 6.8 million people to 9 million people (US Census Data, 2010). In examining specific race combinations, the data showed that, “people who reported White as well as Black or African American—a population that grew by over one million people, increasing by 134 percent—and people who reported White as well as Asian—a population that grew by about three-quarters of a million people, increasing by 87 percent” (US Census Data, 2010). In 2004, one in 40 persons in the United States self-identified as a multiracial, and by the year 2050, it is projected that as many as one in five Americans will claim a Multiracial background, and in turn, a Multiracial or Biracial identity (Lee & Bean, 2004).



Early Thoughts on Biracial Identity Development
When initial racial identity development research is applied to biracial people, there are limitations, as they fail to recognize variance in developmental experiences that occur within racial groups (Gibbs, 1987). This research assumes that individuals would choose to identify with, or choose to reject, one racial group over another dependent on life stage. Also, initial racial identity development research does not address real-life resolutions for people upholding multiple racial group identities (Poston, 1990). These assumptions display the need for biracial identity development that focuses on the unique aspects of the experience of biracial identity development.

Stonequist's Marginal Person Model
Stonequist’s Marginal Person Model (1937) was the first to address biracial identity development. This study discusses pathology in Black families through comparison of Black minority samples to White majority samples. Stonequist claims that developing a biracial identity is a marginal experience. He suggests that biracial people belong in two worlds and none all at the same time. That they experience uncertainty and ambiguity which can worsen problems people face identifying with their own racial groups and others (Gibbs, 1987). A primary limitation of this model is that it is largely internal and focused on development within biracial individuals. The model does not discuss factors such as racism or racial hierarchy, which can worsen feelings of marginality for biracial persons. It does not address other functions of marginality that could also affect biracial identity development such as conflict between parental racial groups, or absence of influence from one racial identity (Hall, 2001). The model fails to describe the experience of biracial people that exhibit characteristics of both races without conflict or feelings of marginality (Poston, 1990).

Thoughts on Biracial Identity Development Today
To address the limitations of Stonequist’s Marginal Person Model, researchers have expanded biracial identity development research based on relevant and current understandings of biracial people. Most concepts of biracial identity development highlight the need for racial identity development across the life span. This type of development recognizes that identity is no more static a cultural entity than any other, and that this fluidity of identity is shaped by the individual’s social circumstances and capital (Hall, 2001).

Poston’s Biracial Identity Development Stages
Poston’s (1990) presents a 5-stage model for biracial identity development. This model was developed from research on biracial individuals and information from relevant support groups. Rooted in counseling psychology, the model adapts Cross’ (1987) concept of reference group orientation (RGO), which includes constructions of racial identity, esteem, and ideology.

Stage 1 - Personal Identity
"Individuals at this stage are often very young, and membership in any particular ethnic group is just becoming salient." - Poston Although the person may have an understanding of race and ethnicity, in this stage, people tend to have a sense of self that is independent of their racial background.

Stage 2 - Choice of Group Categorization
"Individuals...are pushed to choose an identity, usually of one ethnic group. This can be a time of crisis and alienation for this individual." - Poston Many biracial people feel forced to make this specific racial choice in order to participate or belong within their peer, or family groups (Kerwin, Ponterotto, Jackson, and Harris 1993). There are several factors that are important in making this choice. These factors include but are not limited to status, social support, personal (physical appearance, languages spoken, family structure), and geographic location.

Stage 3 - Enmeshment/Denial
"This stage is characterized by confusion and guilt at having to choose one identity that is not fully expressive of one's background." - Poston

Stage 4 - Appreciation
This stage signals an important shift where individuals begin to broaden their RGO. They might begin to actively learn about their ethnic histories, which may change their perspective on their racial identity.

Stage 5 - Integration
In this stage individuals experience wholeness and integration of identities. Here, biracials tend to value their ethnic identities deeply and may begin to live multiculturally.

Root’s Resolutions for Resolving Otherness
Root’s Resolutions for Resolving Otherness (1990) address the phenomenological experience of otherness in a biracial context. With footing in cultural psychology, Root suggests that the strongest conflict in biracial identity development is the tension between racial components within oneself. She presents alternative resolutions for resolving ethnic identity based on research covering the racial hierarchy and history of the U.S., and the roles of family, age, or gender in the individual’s development. These alternatives for resolving otherness are not mutually exclusive; no one resolution is better than another. They include assessment of socio-cultural, political, and familial influences on biracial identity development.

Resolution 1 - Acceptance of the Identity Society Assigns
This resolution recognizes geographical variance in oppression - that certain communities experience more racial tension than others. People in racially oppressive parts of the country have less freedom to choose their own identity and may identify with the race(s) that society has assigned based on phenotype and other salient characteristics. People may also affiliate with their family group or extended family group regardless of physical appearance based on their socialization in that group.

Resolution 2 - Identification with both racial groups
Here, individuals identify with both racial groups or as mixed. This may be the most idealistic of the resolutions, and is a more common resolution in areas of the country where biracial families are prevalent as racial acceptance is largely contingent on a critical mass within the area (Phinney and Alipuria 1996).

Resolution 3 - Identification with a single racial group
This resolution allows biracial individuals to select a singular racial identity if they so choose. A primary difference between the two is that here the individual is taking an active stance rather than a passive one. They have selected their racial identity based on experiences regarding race, family structure and socialization, age, access to identity groups etc.

Resolution 4 - Identification as a new racial group
Resolution 4 allows individuals to define their race in their own terms. This may be a new racial group altogether, or in kinship with other biracials of the same mixture such as the Hapa Haole people of Hawaii who are of White and Asian decent (Root, 1990).

Kich’s Stages of Biracial/Bicultural Identity Development
Kich’s (1992) Stages of Biracial/Bicultural Identity Development focus on understanding the process of healthy self-acceptance for biracial individuals. Kich’s 3-stage process, situated in psychology, addresses some external stimulants such as socialization and the presence of prejudice within the community.

Stage 1 - Initial awareness of difference and dissonance
In the first stage biracials become aware of their difference. This awareness is caused by early experiences biracials have around race which are often strongly linked to the individual’s physical manifestation of their races (phenotype).

Stage 2 - Struggle for acceptance
The second stage often occurs in the social contexts of school or community. This stage involves the formulation of answers to questions like, “what are you?” and “do you feel more this, or that?” Biracials begin to find acceptable ways to discuss their difference and groups to identify with. “Increased experimentation and exploration, heightened by limit testing and peer group involvement, marks this important stage” (Kich, 1992).

Stage 3 - Self-acceptance and assertion of interracial identity
Stage 3 is described by an individuals’ ability to express a harmonious self-definition or to positively define their identity. This is important because with self-acceptance individuals can be self-expressive rather than defensive or reactive to conversations about biracials; individuals are often more flexible in conversations about their racial difference than in previous stages.

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