| Abstract: | For multiracial adolescents, forming a sense of self and identity can be complicated, even at the level of classifying themselves in terms of racial group membership. Using a Race Self Complexity ( Winston et al., 2004 ) theoretical framework, this study used an open‐ended question to examine the racial self‐identification fluidity of 66 adolescents during the 7th, 8th, and 11th grades. This sample included 22 Black/White 1 multiracial adolescents, as well as a matched sample of 22 Black and 22 White adolescents. Seventy‐three percent of the multiracial adolescents changed their racial self‐identification in the form of two time change patterns with a number of consolidating and differentiating racial self‐identification variations. There was no change for the monoracial adolescents. These results suggest that within the lives of multiracial adolescents, the process of racial self‐identification may be a personality characteristic adaptation to the meaning of race in American society that may change across time, place, and role. |
