This dissertation was a qualitative, exploratory and phenomenological study on how mono racial Chinese grandparents racially and ethnically socialize their Chinese-White biracial grandchildren. Participants included thirteen grandmothers, five grandfathers, and fourteen biracial grandchildren. All participants were living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Interviews were conducted with grandparents and their grandchildren to determine grandparents’ racial and ethnic socialization methods as well as how biracial grandchildren responded to their grandparents and how they viewed themselves as biracial individuals in the U.S. The study also considered the effect of the ecological context on socialization. The two main theoretical frameworks used in this study included: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and Root’s “border crossings” theory. Other biracial identity theories, such as Poston’s BIDM and Rockquemore and Laszloffy’s COBI were mentioned as well.This study had two main goals: 1.) Providing an examination of how Chinese grandparents have addressed their grandchildren’s biracial status, how they ethnically and racially socialize their biracial grandchildren, as well as the challenges that they have faced in the socialization process; and 2.) How biracial grandchildren view their grandparents and ecological systems in their process of racial and ethnic socialization. This study’s findings have shown the various ways in which grandparents and ecological contexts have influenced their biracial grandchildren’s ethnic and racial socialization. Some of these ways included: 1.) The types of racial socialization used, including promotion of egalitarianism, promotion of mistrust, and preparation for bias; 2.) Grandparents defining their own identities; 3.) The influence of growing up in the Bay Area’s schools, neighborhoods and communities; 4.) Influence of inherited traits such as one’s physical appearance (phenotype) and birth order and; 5.) Grandparents’ ethnic socialization in terms of cultural activities and practices. A concept map was created to show the linkages between these various factors in grandparents’ ethnic and racial socialization of their biracial grandchildren. The study’s findings could be used to help inform family service agencies and health professionals better understand and work with biracial families, especially as the United States’ racial demographics continue to change over the following decades.
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