Psychiatry - November 2008 - (Page 44)

inconsistent. He did not have much contact with family members on his father’s side of the family except for a grandmother, though she was also far CONCLUSIONS Because the number of biracial children in the United States is increasing, psychiatrists need to be 8. Because the number of biracial children in the United States is increasing, psychiatrists need to be aware of possible issues that may be affecting a biracial child’s mental health and also be aware of how identity formation may differ in this population. away. His family lived in a predominately Caucasian neighborhood, and he attended a school that was great than 90-percent White. Looking at biracial identity formation, Ryan would be at Poston’s stage of “Choice of Group Categorization” when he started in therapy (Table 1). Ryan talked about feeling pressure to call himself African American because that is what others had called him and what he had seen on television and in the movies. He could not remember ever talking to his mother about his race. During the therapy, his mother voiced that she had been uncomfortable talking about this with Ryan. The psychiatrist started with parent psycho-education on identity formation, specifically biracial identity, and explored with Ryan why he looked at himself as African American. It was explored with the family ways that Ryan could learn about his African American heritage along with his European American heritage. Though his father’s side of the family could not attend therapy sessions, Ryan was able to discuss with his father and grandmother via telephone the history of that side of the family. Ryan’s mother and stepfather encouraged this and attended cultural events that were related to African American history. Over a period of two years, Ryan gradually showed an appreciation of both heritages and started calling himself biracial (appreciation of multiple identity and exploration of heritages). His self esteem improved along with his peer relationships and school performance. aware of possible issues that may be affecting a biracial child’s mental health and also be aware of how identity formation may differ in this population. A preventative approach is recommended for most cases. Teaching parents how to facilitate healthy identity formation in their children is an important therapeutic intervention for any biracial child even if this is not the main focus of the therapy. 9. 10. 11. REFERENCES 1. US Bureau of the Census. Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2001. Tatum D. The Complexity of Identity: “Who am I?” Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race. New York: Basis Books, 2003:18–28. Burt JM, Halpin G. African American Identity Development: A Review of the Literature. Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association. New Orleans, LA: Auburn University, 1996. American Anthropological Association. Statement on race. http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm . Access date: October 16, 2008. Vandiver B, Cross Jr W, Worrell F, Fhagen-Smith P. Validating the Cross Racial Identity Scale. J Counsel Psychol. 2002;49(1):71–85. Clauss-Ehlers CS. Race and Ethnicity: Diversity Training for Classroom Teaching—A Manual for Students and Educators, First Edition. New York: Springer Science+ Business Media, Inc., 2006:51–65. Tokar DM, L SJ. An Investigation of the Validity of Helms’ (1984) Model of 12. 2. 13. 3. 14. 15. 4. 16. 5. 17. 6. 18. White Racial Identity Development. J Counse Psychol. 1991;38(3):296–301. Helms JE. Toward a theoretical explanation of the effects of race on counseling: a black and white model. The Counseling Psychologist 1984;12(4):153–165. Ponterotto J, Utsey S, Pedersen P. European American (White) Racial Identity Development, Mental Health, and Prejudice. Preventing Prejudice: A guide for counselors educators and parents, Second Edition. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc., 2006:88–108. Miville M. Biracial identity. In Jackson Y (ed). Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology, First Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc., 2006:77–78. Rockquemore K, Laszloffy TA. Moving Beyond Tragedy: A Multidimensional Model of Mixed-Race Identity,Raising Biracial Children, First Edition. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press., 2005:1–17. Milan S, Keiley M. Biracial youth and families in therapy: issues and interventions. J Marital Fam Ther. 2000; 26:305–366. Choi Y, Harachi TW, Gillmore M, Catalano RF. Are multiracial adolescents at greater risk? comparisons of rates, patterns, and correlates of substance use and violence between monoracial and multiracial adolescents. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2006;76(1):86–97. Poston WSC. The biracial identity development model: a needed addition. J Counsel Devel. 1990;69:152–155. Wardle F. Are you sensitive to interracial children’s special identity needs? Young Children. 1987;42(2):53–59. Solsberry PW. Interracial couples in the United States of America: Implications for mental health counseling. J Mental Health Counsel. 1994;16:304–317. Nash R. Everything You Need to Know About Being a Biracial/Bi-ethnic Teen. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 1995. Wright MA. I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race Conscious World. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998:242–244. 7. 44 Psychiatry 2008 [ N O V E M B E R ] http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Psychiatry - November 2008

Psychiatry - November 2008 Editor's Message Editorial Advisory Board Contents PsychRx Letters to the Editor Measuring Adverse Events in Psychiatry Nonsuicidal Self Injury in Adolescents Relative Tolerability of Alzheimer's Disease Treatments Biracial Identity Development and Recommendations in Therapy Depression and Cardiovascular Disease: Just an Urban Legend? Three Risk Management Basics Journal Watch Classified Advertising Information for Authors

Psychiatry - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.