Perceived monoracism and psychological adjustment of multiracial adults: The roles of racially diverse contexts and creating third space

Abstract

Across two studies, we examined whether racially diverse contexts in combination with creating a third (multiracial) space played a protective role in the association between perceived monoracism and psychological adjustment for multiracial adults. Study 1 participants (N = 263; 77.8% female, Mage = 32.16 years) were recruited from national multiracial organizations and completed an online cross‐sectional survey in 2009. Study 2 participants (N = 1478; 56.2% female, Mage = 48.89 years) were recruited by the Pew Research Center and completed a nationally representative survey in 2015. Results indicated significant three‐way interaction effects on psychological adjustment, with differential effects depending on the types of perceived monoracism. Specifically, when subjective racial diversity was high, creating a third space buffered against the deleterious effects of multiracial discrimination on distress, negative affect, and life satisfaction; while it exacerbated the link between perceived racial ambiguity and negative affect. This study provides empirical evidence for the importance of using an ecological framework when examining multiracial identity and experiences. Results also highlight the need to move beyond conceptualizing and measuring multiracial experiences as dichotomous risks or resiliencies. Rather, we should aim to understand multiracial experiences as either promoting or inhibiting across contexts, time, and individual characteristics.

Alcohol use in multiracial American youth compared with monoracial youth: A meta‐analysis

“…Additionally, emerging evidence suggests that having a third space (i.e. recognition and affirmation of multiracial identity through forming/seeking a multiracial‐specific place [55]) buffered associations of discrimination with maladjustment among multiracial youth [56]. Given known associations of maladjustment [57] and discrimination [22] with alcohol use in the monoracial literature, researchers may consider investigating multiracial youth alcohol pathways with these potential protective factors.…”

Racial Differences in Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Physical, Mental, and Behavioral Health

“…maladaptive behaviors (Franco & Carter, 2019;Goings et al, 2018)) but also development of resilience mechanisms (Yoo et al, 2016) to adapt and thrive in spite of those risks. Promoting community-or school-based "third spaces" (Gabriel et al, 2022;Narvaez & Kivlighan, 2021) places that allow young Multiracial people to safely explore and discuss their experiences with race among caring peers and adultscould be one example of adapting general CDC strategies to better serve the Multiracial population. Similar peer support programs could also be made available to serve parents of Multiracial children, who may be unfamiliar with the social challenges of growing up as Multiracial in a monocentric society.…”

Two or More

“…More recent research has noted the need to consider the association between discrimination and well-being within the ecological context. For example, discrimination and distress, negative affect, and life satisfaction were more weakly related in contexts where subjective racial diversity was high and Multiracial adults were able to create a third, multiracial space (Gabriel et al, 2021).…”

“…Indeed, across both populations, more frequent experiences of discrimination were associated with poorer mental and physical health, and greater substance use. Among Multiracial people, these associations were moderated and mediated by identity integration, and emergent research has begun to consider the moderating role of ecological context such as subjective racial diversity (Gabriel et al, 2021;Jackson et al, 2012;Reid Marks et al, 2020). Among Multicultural people, these associations were mediated by poorer sleep (Green et al, 2021), and moderated by participants' ethnic identity, and the density of ingroup members in the ecological context (Syed & Juan, 2012;Yip et al, 2008).…”