Racial self-categorization in adolescence: multiracial development and social pathways.
Research on multiracial individuals is often cross-sectional, obscuring the fluid nature of multiracial self-categorization across time. Pathways of racial self-identification are developed from a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 14-18, measured again 5 years later. A significant proportion of multiracial adolescents change racial self-identification across time. Youth who ever report being multiracial are 4 times as likely to switch self-identification as to report consistent multiracial identities. Across this time, more multiracial adolescents either add a racial category (diversify) or subtract one (consolidate) than maintain consistent multiracial self-categorization. Exploratory multinomial analyses show few differences between these pathways on select psychological and social characteristics. Results lend quantitative support to qualitative studies indicating the fluidity of racial self-categorization.
Hitlin
Steven
S
Department of Sociology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. steven-hitlin@uiowa.edu
Scott Brown
J
J
Elder
Glen H
GH
D000293:Adolescent; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification