We also study the lived experience of holding membership across multiple groups and how people negotiate their identities as a result. For example, we have explored how first-generation students face cross-cultural stress and challenges to belonging while navigating college or university (Herrmann et al., 2021). Other work has explored how for Multiracial people, not all exclusion experiences are equal such that exclusion from some potential ingroups are more threatening to belonging than exclusion from other groups (Straka & Gaither, in prep).
When Multiracial and multicultural people experience denial and questioning, they are often motivated to reassert their identity in some way (e.g., “I am American!”). In previous work, we’ve found that Multiracial and multicultural individuals weigh systemic risks when negotiating identity and utilize various strategies to assert their identities following experiences of denial (Tsai et al., 2022). Ongoing research in the lab is empirically exploring the factors that predict when and why Multiracial and multicultural people may choose to reassert their identities or not, and whether the act of reasserting identity may promote well-being.
Relevant Articles
1. Straka, B., & Gaither, S. (2023). Considering Multiracial Youth: Identity Challenges and Health Outcomes. In M. Trent, D. Dooley, & J. Douge (Eds.), Untangling the Thread of Racism: A Primer for Pediatric Health Professionals (1st ed.). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/9781610027113-6
2. Herrmann, S.D., Varnum, M.E.W., Straka, B.C., & Gaither, S.E. (2021). Social Class Identity Integration and Success for First-Generation College Students: Antecedents, Mechanisms, and Generalizability. Self and Identity, 0 (0), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2021.1924251
3. Tsai, A., and Straka, B.C., Kimura, D. (2022). Mixed-heritage Individuals and Systemic Risk During Negotiation of Identity. Journal of Language, Identity, & Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2022.2065277
4. Straka, B.C., & Gaither, S.E. (in prep). A New Ball Game: Multiracial Exclusion and Identity.