About Multiracials

Multiracial Identity

Individuals who identify with two or more racial groups are referred to as multiracials. There has been an increase in the number of people belonging to this ethnic group in recent years. In the United Kingdom, for example, it is believed that one out of every 10 children is of mixed origin (Gaither 2015). Multiracial people are frequently under pressure to identify the root reason of their psychological struggle. Many multiculturals, on the other hand, have found a method to navigate their numerous identities. Despite the pressure, there are numerous benefits to multiracialism. Some examples are:

Higher Self-esteem

People who are multiracial have higher self-esteem (Chiu & Hong 2006). Since multiracial identity with more one racial group, they develop stronger social relations as opposed to persons with one ethnic group. The esteem, however, is only developed when the individuals with multiple racial identities recognize the overlapping nature of their identities. The multiracials have to be flexible and adopt behaviors that can enable them effectively function in their environment.

Escaping Stereotypes

Multiracial identity is advantageous as the multiracials can decent the biological stereotype that race can be used to predict one’s abilities. Multiracials are thus able to escape the negative prejudices which characterize the society. The stereotype has impacted negatively on educational outcomes because many are afraid of confirming the stereotype that claims that minorities are always inferior academically. Multiracials also have flexible identities, which is their ability to adapt to different racial groups at given times freely (Chiu & Hong 2006). Research has shown that biracial children quickly report during childhood and identify with a lot of ease with more than one ethnic group.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are identifiable differences that exist between the monoracials and multiracials. In demographic studies, therefore, the monoracial models should not be used in the study of the multiracials. Similarly, data about the multiracials would give a definitive information about the monoracials.

References

Chiu, C. & Hong, Y. (2006). Social Psychology of Culture, Psychology Press, New York.

Gaither, S. E. (2015). “Mixed” Results Multiracial Research and Identity Explorations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(2), 114-119.