| Popis: |
In the extant literature, there exists a paucity of research on persons of mixed race ancestry, which leads to a limited understanding of their lived experiences. The current thesis utilizes a qualitative methodology to conduct an in-depth exploration of biracial Black/White women in order to further understand each woman?s racial identity development and how that relates to her feelings of belonging within multiple communities. This study sought to (a) explore each woman?s racial identity development and contributing factors to self-identified racial classification, (b) understand the four components of psychological sense of community (PSOC) including membership, fulfillment of needs, mutual influence, and shared emotional connection (McMillian & Chavis, 1986) among local and relational communities, and (c) investigate the link between biracial identity development and the components of PSOC when a person?s racial heritage is innately tied to multiple racial groups, and potentially multiple racial communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve female undergraduate and graduate students, selected on the basis of self-identifying as having one African American/Black parent and one Caucasian/White parent. The resultant interviews were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach, guided by current theories of biracial identity development and PSOC. Overall, this research contributes insight into the experience of being biracial in America today and how that relates to feelings of identity, belonging, relating to others, and the feeling of being part of multiple communities. |
