Citation

Bonam CM, Shih M. J. Soc. Iss. 2009; 65(1): 87-103.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.01589.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between a heightened awareness of race as a social construct and comfort in interracial relationships across varying levels of intimacy among multiracial and monoracial individuals. Study 1 finds that multiracial individuals express higher levels of comfort in intimate interracial relationships than monoracial White and minority individuals. Study 2 finds that belief in race as a social construction mediates the differences between monoracial and multiracial individuals in their comfort in intimate interracial relationships. Implications of these findings for interracial relationships are discussed.