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Applying Critical Multiracial Theory to Conceptualizing and Measuring Multiracial Experiences and Identity

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Diversity and Developmental Science

Abstract

This chapter applies critical multiracial theory to advance the conceptualization and measurement of multiracial experiences and identity in developmental science. We aim to illustrate the complexity in how multiracials navigate, negotiate, and challenge (mono)racism and white supremacy in the United States. First, we investigate the historic exclusion and invisibility of multiracials in developmental science, as well as how multiracials complicate traditional understandings of racism, racial formation, and racial identity. Next, we review past and present approaches taken to study the theory and measurement of multiracial experiences and identity. In addition, we introduce a new Model of Multiracial Racialization that situates multiracial racialization experiences (including racial identity, racial identification, and racial category) within six ecological levels: (1) Individual Characteristics; (2) Interpersonal Experiences; (3) Contextual Factors; (4) Social, Economic, and Political Environments; (5) Systems of Oppression; and (6) Time. Finally, we offer specific examples of research topics and questions that attend to each level of our model with the hope of stimulating future research and advancing our developmental science understanding of multiraciality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Abigail K. Gabriel, Clarissa Abidog & Hyung Chol Yoo

  2. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Gabriela Livas Stein

  3. McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    N. Keita Christophe

  4. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Annabelle Atkin

  5. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA

    Christine Wu

  6. University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Richard M. Lee

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  1. Abigail K. Gabriel
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Correspondence to Abigail K. Gabriel .

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  1. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Dawn P. Witherspoon

  2. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Gabriela Livas Stein

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Gabriel, A.K. et al. (2023). Applying Critical Multiracial Theory to Conceptualizing and Measuring Multiracial Experiences and Identity. In: Witherspoon, D.P., Stein, G.L. (eds) Diversity and Developmental Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23163-6_6

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