Psychological Adjustment, Behavior and Health

236 Pages·2006·1.64 MB·English

ABSTRACT
TitleofDissertation: PSYCHOLOGICALADJUSTMENT,BEHAVIOR
ANDHEALTHPROBLEMS INMULTIRACIAL
YOUNGADULTS
WarrenKelley,DoctorofPhilosophy,2006
Directedby: ProfessorMaryAnnHoffman
Department ofCounselingandPersonnel Services
This study: (1)examinedwhethermultiracial youngadults reportedlowerlevels
ofwell-beingrelativetotheirWhiteand monoracial minoritypeers and whetherthese
outcomes weremoderatedbycollegeattendanceorracial identification; and(2)
investigatedfactors,drawnfrom Root=s (2003)ecological model ofmultiracial identity
development,duringadolescencethat couldpredict betterwell-beingoutcomes foryoung
adults. Participants were18-26years oldanddrawnfrom theWaveIIIarchival dataof
theNational Longitudinal StudyofAdolescent Health(Bearman,Jones,&Udry,1997),a
nationallyrepresentativeschool-basedprobabilitysampleofparticipants initially
surveyedin1994-1995,withtheWaveIIIfollow-upconductedsix years laterin2001-
2002. Usingasubset of14,644participants (615multiracial,4,686monoracial minority,
and9,343White)themultiracial youngadults reportedstatisticallyhigherlevels of
depression,drugabuseandphysical limitations,and lowerlevels ofselfworththantheir
monoracial counterparts. Effect sizes (partial etasquared),however,weresosmall,
varyingbetween.001and.003,that thesestatistical findings didnot represent meaningful
differences. Therefore,thecurrent studyfoundevidenceoffewerdifficulties of
multiracial youngadults relativetotheirmonoracial peers,whencomparedtoprevious
researchers whostudiedthesamesampleas adolescents andfoundconsistent patterns of
negativewell-being(Milan&Keiley,2000; Udryet al.,2003). Inpart this maybe
becauseprevious researchers didnot present effect sizes. Usingasecondsubset of8,978
participants (402multiracial,2,617monoracial minority,and 5,959White)atwophased,
multi-groupstructural equationmodel examinedtherelationshipbetweenadolescence
andyoungadulthoodfactors and foundthat multiracial participants hadthehighest path
coefficients fordepressionandlivingwithbothbiological parents incomparisontotheir
monoracial counterparts. Collegeattendancewas foundtonot changetherelationshipof
multiracial youngadults onreportedwell-beingoutcomes incomparisontotheir
monoracial counterparts. Intheareaofmultiracial identification,therewas noevidence
that multiracial youngadults whoreportedtheirracial categoryas multiracial versus
monoracial exhibitedhigherwell-beingoutcomes. Implications forpracticeandfuture
researcharediscussed.
PSYCHOLOGICALADJUSTMENT,BEHAVIOR ANDHEALTH
PROBLEMS INMULTIRACIALYOUNGADULTS
by

WarrenL.Kelley
DissertationsubmittedtotheFacultyoftheGraduateSchool ofthe
UniversityofMaryland,CollegeParkinpartial fulfillment
oftherequirements forthedegreeof
DoctorofPhilosophy
2006
AdvisoryCommittee:
ProfessorMaryAnnHoffman,Chair
AssociateProfessorSusanJones
ProfessorDennis Kivlighan
AssociateProfessorKarenO=Brien
AssociateProfessorRobert Steele
©Copyright by
WarrenL.Kelley
2006
ii
Dedication
ToJillianandNatalie.Youaremyprideandjoy.
ToPhyllis,myloveand lifelongpartner,we=vedonethis together.
iii
Acknowledgments
Therearemanypeoplewhodeservemythanks. First,pursuingmyacademic
goals andthis researchwouldnot havebeenpossiblewithout thesupport andopportunity
providedinmyprofessional lifebyLindaClement towhom Ioweagreat deal. Without
hercommitment tomyseeingthis throughit wouldnot havehappened. Iwant tothank
RichardStimpsonforhis mentorship,wisecounsel andsteadyguidanceovertheyears of
myprogram. Iam indebted toWilliam Thomas,Jr.forhis steadfast support andstrong
encouragement topursuemypassionforpsychology.
Iam grateful toWilliam Sedlacekwhosharedfreelyofhis researchwisdom and
facultyexpertiseandinsights onhowtobeasuccessful graduatestudent. Iappreciated
theinvaluableassistanceandstatistical expertiseof Hung-BinSheu.
Myspecial andenduringthanks toMaryAnnHoffman. Icannot imaginehaving
abetterfacultyadvisor. Herwarm and caringsupport,experiencedandexpert adviceand
guidancewereeverpresent,andshewas always therewhenIneededhelp.
TomyfamilyIoweadeepdebt ofgratitude. MychildrenJillianandNataliehave
inspiredmetodomybest. Wehaveenjoyedmuchfamilytimegatheredaroundmywork
desk. ToPhyllis,theloveofmylifeand mybiggest fanand cheerleader,whose
unwaveringsupport andencouragement gavemetheenergytopursuemyacademicgoals.
iv
TABLEOFCONTENTS
List ofTables vi
List ofFigures vii

Chapter1-Introduction 1
Chapter2-ReviewoftheLiterature 7
DefiningWhat it Means tobeMultiracial 8
Multiracial IdentityModels 11
Factors InfluencingWell Beingand IdentityDevelopment 32
Familyenvironment 32
School, Friends andNeighborhoodEnvironments 35
Generational/Societal Acceptance 37
Multiracial ChangeFrom AdolescencetoYoungAdulthood 40
CollegeExperience 45
Adjustment Outcomes inMultiracial YoungPeople 48
SelfEsteem 49
Psychological,BehaviorandHealthOutcomes
UsingAddHealthData 53
Chapter3-Statement ofProblem 71
Chapter4-Method 77
DesignStatement 77
Participants 78
Measures 86
Procedures 102
Chapter5–Results 105
PreliminaryAnalyses 105
Hypotheses 1aand1b 119
Hypothesis 2 126
Hypothesis 3 135
Additional Analyses 137
Chapter6-Discussion 151
Summary 151
v
Multiracial YoungAdults andWell-being 154
Adolescent Predictors ofWell-beinginMultiracial YoungAdults 157
Multiracial IdentityDevelopment andWell-being 166
Limitations 172
Implications forPractice 181
Areas ofFutureResearch 186
Appendix A-AddHealth Project Description 192
Appendix B-Initial andFinal Items 198
Appendix C -WaveIandWaveIIIItem Comparison 208
References 214
vi
LISTOFTABLES
1. ComparisonPsychological Adjustment,Behaviors and Health/Somatization 63
Significant Findings
2. Demographiccomparisons ofretainedandremovedparticipants 88
3. SEM measurement model fit indices (wholesampleWaveI-IIIsubset 8,978) 108
4. SummaryofInitial andFinal Latent Constructs andFactors 115
5. M,SDandIntercorrelations amongpredictorand outcomevariables 117
usingWaveI-IIIsubset of 8,978participants.
6. M,SDandIntercorrelations amongpredictorandoutcomevariables 118
usingWaveI-IIIsubset of402multiracial participants.
7. SEM SingleandMulti-groupModel Fit Indices 130
8. Multi-groupComparisons onFactorLoadings fortheMeasurement Model 131
9. Factorloadings andstructural paths released 132
10. Racial Identification Changefrom WaveItoWaveIII 138
11. Multiracial identificationandWaveIIIdependent factors 138
12. Collegevs.non-collegeparticipants comparedat WaveIfactors 140
13. WaveIparental incomeandWaveIIIoutcomefactors -Pearsoncorrelation 143
andsimpleregression
14. Racespecificcategories usingWaveIIIsubset of14,644 146
15. Means, StandardDeviations forWaveIIIoutcomes formonoracial groups 149
andselectivemultiracial groups
16. Significant ANOVAresults shownacross WaveIIIdependent factors 150
forspecificmultiracial groups
vii
LISTOFFIGURES
1. SEM Initial Measurement andStructural Model 99
2. SEM Final Measurement andStructural Model 116
3. SEM Final Multi-groupStructural Model withPathCoefficients 133