Biracial heritage and mental health
Biracial heritage refers to individuals who have parents from two different racial backgrounds, while multiracial heritage encompasses those with more than two racial ancestries. As the biracial and multiracial population grows, particularly in the United States, understanding their mental health needs becomes increasingly important. Historically, mixed-race individuals have been subjected to stereotypes that suggest they suffer from severe identity crises and mental health issues, a view that has been largely influenced by societal biases and the "one-drop rule" which historically classified individuals based on any perceived non-white ancestry. Many biracial and multiracial individuals experience feelings of isolation and struggle with self-identification, often facing pressure to conform to a single racial identity based on their physical appearance.
While empirical research on the mental health of biracial and multiracial people is limited, some studies indicate that they may face a higher risk of conditions such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse compared to their monoracial peers. The increased recognition of biracial and multiracial identities in contemporary society has fostered a more supportive environment, allowing individuals to self-identify more freely. This shift is crucial for their social and psychological well-being, promoting a sense of belonging and acceptance in a diverse cultural landscape. Understanding these dynamics is essential for addressing the unique mental health challenges faced by biracial and multiracial individuals.
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Subject Terms
Biracial heritage and mental health
- TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Multicultural psychology; psychopathology; psychotherapy
The study of the mental health of biracial and multiracial people has been dominated by the view that mixed-race people will have severe identity and other mental health issues because of their ancestry. Additionally, society has tended to classify mixed-race people as members of a single race, often based on their dominant physical characteristics. As a result, little empirical study has been made of the mental health issues and needs of mixed-race people.
Introduction
In 2000, the US Census Bureau allowed respondents to check more than one racial or ethnic category for the first time in history. Previous censuses forced respondents to choose from distinct racial or ethnic categories such as black or African American, white or Caucasian, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic. The 2000 census had fifteen check boxes for racial or ethnic categories and three write-in areas to enable respondents to clarify their ancestry. Additionally, it expanded traditional racial categories to include more distinct subgroups. These changes were significant because they marked the first time biracial and multiracial individuals were able to identify as such and not as a member of a single race on the census forms. Approximately seven million people (2.4 percent of the overall population) identified themselves as biracial or multiracial in the 2000 census; in the 2010 census, approximately nine million people (2.9 percent of the overall population) identified themselves as being of two or more races. Biracial and multiracial individuals are among the fastest-growing segments of the US population. In 2020, the Census Bureau included categories for both race and ethnicity in the survey. The data showed that the multiracial population of the country grew at a lightning pace over the decade, with 33.8 million people indicating a multiracial background. This represented an increase of 276 percent from the 2010 census.
Biracial individuals are those who claim any two racial groups (not limited to black and white) as part of their heritage; multiracial individuals are those who claim more than two. Historically, the United States has viewed race dichotomously by characterizing people as either blacks or whites. Race was defined by the “one-drop rule,” which states that a person with any black ancestry (one drop of black blood) is part of the black race. The one-drop rule, developed during the slavery era, reflected society’s significant bias for individuals of European ancestry over individuals of color and a desire to maintain racial purity. The dominating (and erroneous) belief for much of US history was that racial mixing threatened white racial, moral, social, and intellectual superiority because it diluted white blood with inferior blood from lesser races. In the 1660s, the United States began enacting laws preventing the mixing of races (miscegenation) and stipulating a person’s race by how much African ancestry the individual possessed. Many states had laws prohibiting interracial marriage until Loving v. Virginia, a 1967 US Supreme Court ruling, overturned these statutes. Other Jim Crow laws mandated segregation in areas such as voting, housing, and schools. Thus, the cost of having any black ancestry was extremely high.
Historically, the term “mulatto” was used to describe an individual with black and white ancestry, particularly a person with one white and one black parent. Mulatto was an official US Census category until 1930, but this term has come to be regarded as offensive and outdated. The term “mestizo” was used to refer to individuals of mixed European (often Spanish) and American Indian ancestry, and the term “half-breed” described an individual whose parents were of different races, usually white and American Indian. The terms “biracial” and “multiracial” are more inclusive, describing individuals with varied racial ancestry. Those individuals who identify with multiple racial or ethnic backgrounds are said to have a biracial or multiracial .
Mental Health
Early models of mental health often assumed that because a person was biracial or multiracial, that individual would become mentally ill. The “tragic mulatto” stereotype portrayed biracial individuals as self-hating, depressed, sexually perverse, and chronically suicidal. The core of the mulatto’s despair was that the individual could never live fully as a white person despite having white ancestry. This stereotype dominated fictional literature and societal views through the early 1980s. Biracial and mixed-race individuals were automatically assumed to have deeply ingrained psychological issues. Because of these negative stereotypes and biases, little scientific study of the mental health of biracial and multiracial individuals has been conducted.
Historically, biracial and multiracial individuals have been excluded from full membership in monoracial communities. This exclusion causes feelings of isolation and a sense of not belonging to or being accepted by any racial or ethnic group. This negativity results in struggles with issues of self-identification and self-esteem. It has been demonstrated that biracial and multiracial individuals face unique social and psychological related to being multiracial. One of these stressors is having to continually answer the question “What are you?” Sometimes, these individuals have been ostracized by members of their extended families because they are of mixed race. Monoracial individuals of color can often have their social and self-esteem needs met within their own racial group, even if they run into discrimination and prejudice in the greater society. This kind of support network is usually not available to multiracial individuals. Additionally, because society continues to dichotomize race into discrete categories, multiracial individuals tend to feel as if they have to defend their multiracial ancestry and psychological well-being. This can be especially difficult for multiracial children and adolescents.
Modern society continues to label individuals based on their perceived racial background, as suggested by their physical characteristics. As a result, many biracial individuals feel forced to choose a racial identity based on their physical appearance. For example, a biracial person with an Asian and a white parent may feel pressure to identify as Asian American because he or she has Asian features. This “forced choice” was especially common before the US Census Bureau expanded the choice of racial categories in its surveys. Increasingly, biracial and multiracial individuals are self-identifying as such, in ways that make clear their specific multiracial ancestry. Society has become more accepting of individuals who identify as biracial or multiracial. The recognition of biracial and multiracial people as distinct from other racial groups has helped the social and psychological adjustment of biracial and multiracial individuals.
It is difficult to assess the prevalence of psychological disorders among multiracial individuals because very little empirical study of mental health issues within this group has been conducted. However, there is some evidence to suggest that multiracial individuals are at a slightly higher risk for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders than their monoracial counterparts.
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