The Impacts of Multiracial Socialization and School Racial Composition on Multiracial Pride Among Biracial Adolescents

Multiracial adolescents navigate unique experiences within their schools and families that affect their ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, such as the positive feelings they have toward being Multiracial (i.e., Multiracial pride). Despite the prevalent and growing number of Multiracial youth in the U.S., less attention has been given to their specific Multiracial identity development. The current study aimed to address gaps by examining whether school racial composition (i.e., predominantly White, predominantly Black for Black-White adolescents, predominantly Latiné for Latiné-White adolescents, or predominantly racially diverse) and Multiracial socialization from caregivers (i.e., navigating multiple heritages and Multiracial identity socialization) were associated with Multiracial pride among 253 Black-White and 276 Latiné-White adolescents (Mage = 15.27, SD = 1.39). Results indicated that attending a predominantly racially diverse school and Multiracial socialization were associated with greater Multiracial pride. However, navigating multiple heritages socialization and attending a predominantly matched Black/Latiné school (i.e., attending a predominantly Black school for Black-White adolescents, or attending a predominantly Latiné school for Latiné-White adolescents) were not associated with Multiracial pride. Findings highlight the importance of understanding how Multiracial adolescents’ ERI development is informed by school and family processes and contexts.