Mixed Race Studies

Grey girls: Biracial identity development and psychological adjustment among women

The Wright Institute
September 2008
141 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3306485 

Andrea Catherine Green

A dissertation submitted to the Wright Institute Graduate School of Psychology, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology

The purpose of this study was to expand the body of research regarding the developmental and psychological experiences of Biracial women-women who have one Black parent and one White parent. This study examined how Biracial women identify racially (i.e., Biracial, Multiracial, Interracial, Black, White, etc.) and how this identification has impacted their psychological well-being. This study had the following purposes: (1) to determine which factors (e.g., family and others’ expectations, physical appearance) may influence racial identity choice for Biracial women, (2) to determine if Biracial women are as psychologically maladjusted as previous studies have indicated, and (3) to explore the relationship between racial identity and psychological functioning among Biracial women.

Forty-two women accessed the study, while thirty-three participants completed the online survey. The survey consisted of three measures: the Adapted Biracial Identity Development Questionnaire (ABID-Q), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). The findings indicate the following: All of the participants chose to identify as a person of color (Biracial, Interracial, Multiracial, Black); medium to large correlations were found to exist between the variables (family messages, others’ perceptions, physical appearance) and racial identity development, although not statistically significant relationships; and this sample of women were overall psychologically healthy, reporting low depression scores and high satisfaction with life scores.

Table of Contents

• ABSTRACT
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
• CHAPTER
  • PRESENTATION OF THE PROBLEM
    • Introduction
    • Statement of Purpose
    • Definitions of Key Terms
    • A Historical Understanding of the Presence of African-Americans in the United States of America: The African Slave Trade
    • After Slavery and the Emergence of Biracial Americans
    • A Short Story: The Researcher’s Own Journey Toward Biracial Identity Development
  • I. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
    • General Identity Development
    • Racial Identity Development Models
    • Biracial Identity Development Models
    • The Early Biracial Identity Development Models
    • The New Generation of Biracial Identity Development Models
    • Biracial Identity Development and Psychological Implications
    • Gender and Biraciality
    • Hypotheses
• METHODOLOGY
  • Participants
  • Procedure
  • Instruments
• RESULTS
• DISCUSSION
• REFERENCES
• APPENDICES
  • A. ADAPTED BIRACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
  • B. SURVEY OF BIRACIAL EXPERIENCES
  • C. BUXENBAUM BIRACIAL IDENTITY QUESTIONNAIRE
  • D. CENTER FOR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES DEPRESSION SCALE
  • E. SATISFACTION WITH LIFE SCALE

List of Tables and Figures

• TABLE 1. Descriptive Statistics of Sample
• TABLE 2. Statistical findings of the correlations
• TABLE 3. Means and Standard Deviations of dependent variables
• FIGURE 1. Percentages of Racial Identity

Purchase the dissertation here.