ERIC Number: EJ1258203
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0038-0407
EISSN: N/A
Biracial Identity Development at Historically White and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Sociology of Education, v93 n3 p238-255 Jul 2020
This study explores the relationship between biracial identity development and college context. I draw on interviews with 49 black-white biracial first- and second-year students attending historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs) or historically white colleges/universities (HWCUs) and follow-up interviews with the same students at the end of college to explore how and why their racial identities changed over time. Most participants experienced racial identity change over the course of the study, and this change was most often in the direction of a strengthened black identity for both HBCU and HWCU students. An increasing understanding of racism led students at both institutional types to develop stronger black identities. The processes that led to this heightened awareness of racism, however, differed across institutions. Reflected appraisals (HBCU students' impression that their peers included and accepted them as black and HWCU students' impression that their white peers excluded and labeled them as nonwhite) also played a role in students' strengthening black identities, as did increased contact with black peers (especially for HBCU students). This article describes the implications of biracial identity development for biracial students' psychosocial well-being, campus social adjustment, and college persistence.
Descriptors: Multiracial Persons, African Americans, Whites, Student Characteristics, College Students, Black Colleges, Racial Identification, Change, Racial Bias, Institutional Characteristics, Peer Relationship, Well Being, Student Adjustment, Academic Persistence, College Environment, Parents, Family Influence, Socioeconomic Status, Educational Attainment
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A