Multiracial individuals’ experiences of rejection and acceptance from different racial groups and implications for life satisfaction

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two studies examine Multiracial Asian-White, Black-White, Latinx-White, and Native American-White people’s experiences of rejection (Study 1) and acceptance (Study 2) from potential racial ingroups, and associations with life satisfaction. In Study 1, Multiracial participants reported comparable levels of rejection from their monoracial minoritized ingroups and White ingroup, but significantly less rejection from their Multiracial ingroup. In Study 2, participants reported feeling slightly less accepted from monoracial minoritized ingroups than from the White ingroup. Across both studies, greater rejection, and less acceptance, from the White ingroup was related to lower life satisfaction. Notably, this effect was strongest among Native American-White Multiracial people relative to other Multiracial groups in our sample. Findings highlight how Multiracial people’s multiple potential ingroups relate to their social rejection and acceptance experiences, and that rejection and acceptance from higher status potential ingroups (i.e., White people) may play a role in subjective well-being disparities for some Multiracial groups.