Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Psychology

First Advisor

Stephen N. Campbell

Second Advisor

Thomas D. Kennedy

Third Advisor

Jennifer Davidtz

Fourth Advisor

Ronald P. Fisher

Keywords

Biracial, Biracial, Colorism, Cultural Acceptance, Multiracial

Abstract

The Multiracial population represents the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States and is expected to more than double by 2060 (Vespa et al., 2018). Despite this rapid increase in the Multiracial population, there is a dearth of research regarding racial identity development, anxiety, and depression on this group. Social inclusion has been recognized as a fundamental human need, and Multiracial individuals may be more likely to be accepted into a majority group if their appearance is racially ambiguous. The current study builds on previous knowledge by utilizing a novel measure developed to examine the beliefs held by Monoracial and Biracial or Multiracial individuals regarding skin tone as inclusion criteria for ethnic and cultural inclusion. Additionally, the study examines beliefs about the occurrence rates of anxiety and depression, microaggression experiences, and the prevalence of systemic racism. Not surprisingly, Black and Multiracial participants reported experiencing more racial microaggressions than White participants however these groups did not differ in their reports of the current level of systemic racism. Multiracial and White participants were more likely to report Multiracial status increases the chance of the individual developing anxiety or depression than Black participants. Interestingly, Multiracial and Black participants were significantly more likely than White participants to endorse a Multiracial status provides advantages. Black participants generally believed that lighter skin tones were accepted for each community. Specifically, Black participants endorsed significantly lighter skin tones than both White and Biracial participants for full acceptance into Black communities. Black participants also indicated that significantly lighter skin tones were needed for acceptance into White communities than White participants did, indicating a more extreme threshold for full acceptance to the White community. Biracial participants did not differ from Black or White participants regarding beliefs of skin tone for inclusion to the White or Black groups. Key words: cultural acceptance, skin tone, black, biracial, white, multiracial, anxiety, depression, passing, colorism, microaggressions, systemic racism, colorism, hypodescent, cultural acceptance questionnaire (CAQ).

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