Multicultural Background Paper 2
Multicultural Background Paper
Introduction
Culture plays a role in everyone’s life, and it can have a positive or negative impact as
culture influences individual worldview. Culture is not only one’s family background but also
includes the way one grows up and how those influences shape their thoughts, ideas, morals,
values, and well-being. This further influences the way we interact with others personally and
professionally. In the field of human services, multicultural background can impact the way a
person provides services, which is why it is important for the professional to be aware of him ot
herself. The purpose of this paper is for me to identify my culture and family background, how it
influenced, and shaped my worldview. Then I will discuss the similarities and differences
between my family cultural background and the culture of the area I grew up in. I will then
explore the perspective of racial/cultural identity. Finally, I will explore how my cultural
background and research influences my professional role before concluding the paper.
Predominant Cultures of Family Background
My two predominant cultures are African American, from my father, and Filipino, from
my mother. The word culture has several meanings but ultimately refers to the way one learns
socially. According to Heyes (2021), culture is defined by specific knowledge and behaviors that
influence a group of people and anything that influences social learning from a group of people.
My parents brought strong values to our family that continue to influence my life today. My
parents have always instilled and still demonstrate the importance of culture for me and my
siblings. When I was younger, I was heavily influenced by my Filipino culture as my mother’s
parents lived with my family. Choi et al. (2018), discussed that Filipino culture relies heavily on
supporting the family, sharing the home, and caring for others. I learned the basic values of the
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culture including the importance of family and respecting all people. Since my grandparents
lived with my family, I learned that we should take care of our parents and family and to stick
together. It demonstrated compassion and loyalty for me. The other value that was instilled was
the concept of respect for others. By spending time with my grandparents, I learned more about
the Filipino side of my culture. Choi et al. (2018), labeled it familism, which is defined as loyalty
and obligation to family as well as the interdependency and the collective needs of a family.
They discussed how familism is common across Asian American cultures and that the specific
values influence Asian American youth and their development (Choi et al., 2018). I would agree
with this because when I started to build relationships with others, I treated others the way I was
taught. It also influenced me in school and how I approached my academics. I felt that I had to
make may family proud of me by striving to be the best academically; however, I realized that
striving to be the best was not what I needed to do to get the support of my family. My family
was and still is supportive of me and the decisions I make.
The other predominant culture is African American. Both of my parents demonstrated
and taught me the value of hard work, but my father was in the military, and I noticed how hard
he worked to support our family. He had to make sacrifices to provide for our family, but he
made sure that we knew that family should always be the number one priority. Even though my
father had military obligations he always ensured that my mother had what she needed to support
us children in his absence. Reflecting on what my father did for our family instilled that I should
find the same qualities in a partner. The African American culture places emphasis on positive
wellbeing and hard work. Research explained that a Black father’s perception of the world
influences how he raises his children (Cooper et al., 2020). The researchers focused on the racial
aspect of Black fathers parenting. Black fathers’ parent in a way to educate their children on the
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ways of society as it relates to race and how it can impact individual development (Cooper et al.,
2020). My father wanted his children to be successful and live life without enduring the
negativity of the. According to Cooper et al. (2020), Black fathers who are motivated by
intergenerational experiences work toward raising their children to be healthy and thrive within
society because they want to protect them from negative encounters in life. My parents worked
hard to protect and prepare us to be successful in the world.
Both of my parents want the best for their children and another set of values that they
instilled was what it means to be Christian and live life based on the word of God. I believe that
everything my parents did for our family was grounded in religion and spirituality. My parents
instilled respect and obedience and the importance of honoring your parents. They also showed
us the value of hard work and determination. Another thing that was major in both of my
parents’ cultures is food. Food is what brings the family together and it signifies the love that
family has for each other. At our family gatherings there is at least one day of celebration around
our favorite foods.
Differences and Similarities
Growing up I lived in different countries and states due to my father’s military career,
which is how he met my mother. Growing up in a military household I learned a lot about my
culture because when we lived in different regions other people were also from different regions
and a military lifestyle was the main culture. I felt that I had to rely on the cultures that my
parents brought to our family to survive the many transitions throughout my life. Family is
important in the military culture and culture did not seem to be an issue as many of the other
families were of different cultures and backgrounds. Many of us were learning to adapt to an
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absent parent due to deployment or other military obligations, which increased the need to rely
on our families.
However, when I was outside of the military instillation and went into the civilian
“world” I experienced discrimination. I remember being five years old when I experienced racial
discrimination. I was at the mall with my mother and older sister, when an older White woman
approached us and said that my sister and I were pretty for being brown skin and then she asked
my mother how long she had been nannying us. This is when I realized that the world was
looking at my family differently than we looked at our family. Another instance was when I was
in seventh grade and my math teacher tried to deny me from taking high school algebra because
black children did not do well early in upper classes. I was able to witness my parents come
together to support me in this situation. This was an instance that confirmed the value of family
and family supporting each other.
Perspective on Cultural/Racial Identity
The values brought by my parent’s cultures shape the way I live today. I grew up with a
sense of self in my cultural identity. In the beginning, the racial discrimination did increase the
struggles I had with my identity because I was not taught to view the world through that type of
lens. Based on the current research and reflecting on my cultural upbringing I believe that I can
relate to the Poston’s biracial identity development model. My parent’s and family helped me
develop my personal identity and sense of self. With the reassurance that my parents and other
family members gave me I was able to understand the purpose of knowing and embracing my
cultural identity. Conversely, I think that some of my encounters with racial discrimination left
me to believe that I had to choose one race/culture over the other (see Hays & Erford, 2023).
Since I have brown skin, I am automatically assumed to be Black, so I thought maybe that is how
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I had to identify myself. I realized by doing that I was not acknowledging my mother; therefore,
I was neglecting the other side of my family and culture. This led to some feelings of guilt and
shame on my part (see Hays & Erford, 2023), but my parents were able to teach me how to
embrace and appreciate all of me. I started to be confident in identifying myself as Filipino and
Black and understanding that each culture shaped who I am today and encouraged me to develop
the worldview I have.
I still face racial discrimination even though I am more confident in who I am as a
person. Now I am able to respond differently because I know who I am, and I do not internalize
the negativity I face. I have noticed a positive shift in acceptance and diversity in the different
regions I have lived, but there are still reminders of the differences in culture that exist. Smith et
al. (2022) discussed that even though the United States is continually diversifying racially and
culturally, and People of Color have made many gains in last several years there are still
struggles within these populations because of inequalities regarding income, health, and mental
health. This is important to me because by default I am raising children of more than one race
and cultural identity and I am striving to work within the human’s services field. I have to be
aware of culture differences to be more effective and efficient in my work.
How Culture Shapes Current Worldview
Experiencing culture, the way I did growing up makes me appreciate diversity and
difference more. Even though my parents and family instilled my basic core values, growing up
in a military family was also beneficial for me. Growing up as a military child, I met many
people from different cultures and backgrounds. This experience taught me to appreciate
different cultures and to treat people based on how they want to be treated. This skill can be
beneficial in the field of mental health because culture can impact treatment. According to
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Matthews et al. (2018), since the United States in increasing in racial and ethnic diversity it is
important that professionals are nonjudgmental and are self-aware to create and maintain a
positive therapeutic relationship with those they serve. Put another way, learning more about my
own culture and developing my own self-identity, I have to learn to build a professional identity
to be more effective in the field. Having a healthy professional identity can promote healthy
client development as some of the main components of counseling is to assist clients with using
their resources, finding the techniques, building the skills, and promoting safety to prevent
mental health crises and promote healthy development moving forward (Simmons et al., 2020).
No one person has the same background, and it is pertinent that as a professional I treat them
based on their needs, which includes considering their cultural backgrounds, morals, and values.
By identifying my professional identity, I am able to grow personally and professionally and I
am then able to effectively advocate for my clients. The goal as a professional in this field is to
provide an effective service to clients which means that I have a responsibility to maintain self-
awareness, knowledge, and learn the skills to maintain a therapeutic relationship regardless of
the differences in the morals, values, and beliefs of clients (Remley & Herlihy, 2020).
Conclusion
Multicultural background shapes each person differently. People learn to identify
themselves based on the way they were raised, and self-identity shapes a person’s worldview.
That worldview then impacts the way a person interacts with others. This paper focused on my
cultural background, how I interpreted my cultural identity, and how my cultural identity impacts
the way I navigate my world personally and professionally.
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References
Choi, Y., Kim, T. Y., Noh, S., Lee, J., & Takeuchi, D. (2018). Culture and family process:
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1029-1048. doi: 10.1111/famp.12322
Cooper, S. M., Burnett, M., Johnson, M. S., Brooks, J., Shaheed, J., McBride, M. (2020). ‘That is
why we raise children’: African American fathers’ race-related concerns for their
adolescents and parenting strategies. Journal of Adolescence, 82(1), 67-81.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.06.001
Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2023). Developing Multicultural Counseling Competence: A
Systems Approach (4th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Heyes, C. (2020). Culture. Current Biology, 30(20), R1246-R1250.
https://doi.org/10.1016/.cub.2020.08.086
Matthews, J. J., Barden, S. M., & Sherrell, R. S. (2018). Examining the relationship between
multicultural counseling competence, multicultural self-efficacy, and ethnic identity
development in professional counselors. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 40(2),
129-141. doi: 10.7744/mehc40.2.03
Remley Jr., T. P., & Herlihy, B. (2020). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling. (6th
ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Simmons, R., Lilley, S., & Kuhnley, A. K. (Eds.). (2020). Introduction to counseling:
Integration of faith, professional identity, and clinical practice. Kendall Hunt.
Smith, E. P., Yzaguirre, M. M., Dwaynen, L., & Wieling, E. (2022). Culturally relevant
parenting approaches among African American and Latinx children and families: Toward
