Iowa State University
2008
322 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3310805
ISBN: 9780549596066
Alissa Renee King
A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
In this study, I explored how female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual made meaning of their racial and sexual identities, how they described their identity development process, and the ways in which college contributed to their identity formation. Utilizing a proposed model of biracial-bisexual identity development and the ecology of student development model as foundations for this study, I sought to better understand the experiences both before and during college, and the impacts of those two environments on the processes of racial and sexual identity formation for the female college students in this study. Findings, based on in-depth interviews, revealed that the females in this study were impacted in different ways during the pre-college experience and during college, with influences coming from family, peers, and the school setting before college. The themes during the college experience at the time of the interviews were related to Trying On new labels, Negotiating Self within a variety of spaces, and Finding Fit in places where the participants felt safe and supported. Findings also revealed that context had the biggest impact on identity development and that racial and sexual identity were primarily separate processes rather than intersecting experiences. I offered contributions to biracial-bisexual identity models and I shared recommendations for current practice and future research to better serve females in both secondary and post-secondary institutions who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual.
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