In a study that contradicts prior research, Stanford psychologist Kevin Binning has found that mixed-race students who consider themselves multiracial tend to be happier than mixed-race students who align themselves with a single ethnicity.
Binning asked 180 college students of mixed racial or ethnic backgrounds to identify themselves as black, white, Asian, Hispanic, or mixed — and the last group scored highest on standard measures of psychological well-being and social engagement. Does acknowledging a multiracial background build confidence? Or does confidence encourage a broader sense of identity? Binning’s study leaves that chicken-and-egg question unanswered. But like the examples set by Tiger Woods and Barack Obama, it does indicate that a multiracial self-identity needn’t bar one’s path to success.
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