Proposal

Deconstructing Discrimination: Multiracial Individuals’ Discrimination Experiences and Psychological Well-Being

Given the importance of belonging to the human experience, it is not surprising that perceiving cues of social acceptance are associated with improved health, well-being, and engagement (Walton & Cohen, 2011). In contrast, social rejection is a generally painful phenomenon, even when the perpetrator is a member of a deplorable group such as the KKK (Gonsalkorale & Williams, 2007). As any person can attest—whether it is experienced on the job market or in a school cafeteria—the sting of rejection spares no one. However, specific forms of social rejection can be directed toward members of some groups more heavily, with pernicious consequences.

Individuals with mixed-race ancestry face higher rates of prejudice and discrimination than any other racial or ethnic group (Brackett et al., 2006), yet psychology has a limited understanding of their experiences. A growing body of research documents that Multiracial people may face rejection from many different sources. People of color (POC) may reject part- White Multiracial people because their White identity can lead to questions about allegiances to POC groups (Chen et al., 2018). White people may also reject Multiracial people for a number of reasons, including wanting to protect ingroup boundaries or existing status inequality between racial groups (Krosch & Amodio, 2014). Although it is clear that Multiracial people can experience high levels of rejection and discrimination, there is no existing theory of discrimination that adequately documents the nature and impact of these experiences. The proposed research develops and tests a novel, theoretically-based framework of discrimination types and their influence on Multiracial individuals’ well-being (see Figure 1).

Building on the limited body of research in Multiracial discrimination experiences, we propose four types of discrimination experienced by Multiracial people. Multiracial people can experience specific racial discrimination, directed toward a single racial group within their background, as well as anti-miscegenation discrimination, discrimination rooted in attitudes against interracial families and directed toward individuals’ mixed-race status. Identity- contingent discrimination describes instances in which discrimination arises from, or is directed toward, individuals’ identification (e.g., inconsistencies between one’s identity and perceivers’ beliefs about how they should identify). Last, vicarious discrimination describes instances in which Multiracial people can be interpersonally accepted yet simultaneously witness discriminatory or prejudiced attitudes relevant to their racial identity or background. In addition to outlining forms of discrimination, the proposed study will investigate target characteristics (i.e., racial identification) related to the prevalence of these discrimination experiences. Follow up studies will continue to develop this novel framework, examining additional characteristics such as perpetrator race.

Methodology

200 Multiracial participants will be recruited through Qualtrics (see budget justification for details). Participants will not need to self-identify as Multiracial; people who indicate two or more racial backgrounds on a check all that apply question will be considered eligible.

Participants will complete a survey assessing well-being (Diener et al., 1985), followed by identification strength for each racial background and the Multiracial group (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992). The group that someone most strongly identifies with will be considered their primary identification for this study. For each racial background selected, participants will complete 7-items assessing specific discrimination (Giamo et al., 2012). We will utilize a racial invalidation scale to measure identity-contingent discrimination (12-items; Franco & O’Brien, 2018). Five-items adapted from Schmitt et al. (2002) will be used to measure anti-miscegenation discrimination (e.g., “I feel like I am personally a victim of society because of my mixed racial background”). Three items will assess vicarious discrimination (“How often have you witnessed racist or offensive [comments/jokes/behaviors] directed at someone else who shared one or more of your racial backgrounds?”).

Analytic plan

This study will investigate the extent to which Multiracial people experience different types of discrimination and the characteristics of Multiracial individuals (i.e., primary identification) that make them more or less likely to experience these four types. It will also test what discrimination types are associated with psychological well-being. Multiple linear regressions will be used to answer these research questions.

In sum, the proposed research will shed new light on mixed-race individuals’ experiences with different types of discrimination and how these experiences relate to well-being. Although these processes can potentially happen to people of any race, the Multiracial demographic illuminates key dimensions related to types of discrimination not immediately apparent in monoracial contexts. Isolating these different kinds of discrimination is a broadly interesting phenomena that provides a deeper understanding of race relations in the U.S.

Figure 1. A working framework to understand discrimination typology and impacts on well- being.

Target Characteristics

(Primary Identification)

Identity-contingent Discrimination

Anti-miscegenation Discrimination

Vicarious Discrimination

Race-specific Discrimination

Well-Being

References

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Chen, J. M., Nour, K. S., & Ho, A. K. (2018). Whose side are you on? Asian Americans’

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Franco, M. G., & O’Brien, K. M. (2018). Racial identity invalidation: An instrument

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