Participant characteristics

We conducted a total of 11 interviews involving 14 participants. Three interviews included two participants each, while the remaining eight were individual interviews. . Participant demographics are presented in Table 2 and their self-described racial identities, as provided on the screening survey, are presented in Table 3. Participants were located in different geographic areas across the US: two from the West, three from the Northeast, four from the South, and five from the Midwest. There were equal numbers of men and women represented in the sample, with an age range of 18–38 years old. The highest level of education achieved among participants varied, with most participants (n = 9) having received a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Income levels also varied, with a little over half of individuals (n = 8) reporting an annual income of less than $50,000. Notably, four participants were employed in healthcare, and one participant was undergoing training to join this field.

Table 2 Participant demographicsTable 3 Multiracial identitiesThemes

Four primary themes emerged from this study. The first theme describes participants’ perceptions of the Multiracial community. The second theme sheds light on participants’ concerns regarding genetics research involving Multiracial individuals. The third theme describes participants’ preferences for engaging with different stages of the translational research process. Lastly, the fourth theme highlights suggestions made by participants for recruiting individuals from the Multiracial population to inform future studies involving this community.

Theme 1: Evolving definition of “Multiracial Community”

Participants were asked to consider whether they perceive a distinct Multiracial community, and if so, what characterizes this community from others, and what their experiences have been in this community. Participants expressed a wide range of ideas regarding the concept of a Multiracial community, reflecting the diverse range of perspectives within this population. The viewpoints shared by participants can be broken down into three separate response types.

First, some participants (n = 5) shared the belief that a community of Multiracial individuals does not actually exist. Individuals who held this belief often cited the lack of diversity within their own city or the region where they grew up, which led them to have limited interactions with other Multiracial individuals. Participant 10 was among the individuals with this viewpoint, as evidenced by the following quote:

“I don’t think there’s a specific community where it’s like. Alright I’m half and half and you’re half and half, so therefore let’s hang out with each other for that reason, no” (Participant 10, Middle Eastern & White).

While this participant rejected the existence of a Multiracial community, he recognized that individuals from diverse backgrounds may be naturally drawn to each other more often. He pointed out that this tendency is typically “subconscious”, reinforcing his belief that a community composed of Multiracial individuals is not deliberately formed.

Second, a few participants (n = 3) drew on their personal experiences to characterize the Multiracial community, illustrating how their unique backgrounds directly influence their perceptions. More specifically, these participants referenced their own Multiracial identity or the composition of their family when defining the Multiracial community. For instance, Participant 12, who identifies as Filipino and White, noted that for him, the Multiracial community exists within his friend group which, like him, consists of individuals who identify as both White and Asian. Another participant, Participant 7, stated that when he thinks of the Multiracial community, he thinks of “anybody who is mixed race, like [his] own family”, demonstrating how his Black and White heritage influences his viewpoint. Notably, all participants who drew on their personal background to define the Multiracial community identified as belonging to exactly two racial groups (i.e., Biracial), rather than three or more (i.e., Multiracial).

“When I think about like a Multiracial community, I would say I typically think of it as like people who have a Hispanic parent and a White parent. Just because. I don’t know, I feel like I have more in common with people who have like Hispanic background rather than people who are from like another Multiracial background.” (Participant 11, Hispanic & White).

Lastly, one participant offered a broader definition of the Multiracial community, shifting the focus away from her personal identity, and instead capturing the nuanced backgrounds that make up this community. This participant described herself as Multigenerational Mixed, or MGM, and explained that individuals in her family have been marrying other Biracial or Multiracial individuals for generations. Her quote demonstrates a deeper level of familiarity and consideration of the Multiracial community:

“Well, Multiracial is very broad, so you know, there are a lot of different combinations of backgrounds. There’s different cultures. Because, like, there’s so many mixed race combinations, it’s hard to identify like any overlap. But you know, there are intersections that can, that can be identified.” (Participant 1, Black, White, & Indigenous).

Theme 2: Concerns regarding accuracy of genetic research for multiracial individuals

Participants’ familiarity with genetics research varied widely: five reported no familiarity, one had a basic understanding, three were familiar through personal or family genetic testing, and five had knowledge based on professional experience or education.

When asked their thoughts on the impact of genetics research for Multiracial individuals, many participants expressed concerns about accuracy (n = 5). This sentiment was expressed by participants with varying education levels and professional backgrounds. The most frequently cited concern revolved around the accuracy of health risk estimates given Multiracial individuals’ unique backgrounds. More specifically, participants wondered whether their unique ancestral backgrounds might influence their risk of developing conditions that are more common in certain populations. They worried that medical providers may not be able to offer them as comprehensive of a health assessment as they would otherwise provide to individuals from a single racial background. Participants frequently referenced their personal Multiracial identities when expressing this concern, as illustrated by the following quote:

“It’s a little more complex, like, I got a mix of Colombian, Irish, Hungarian, and German, like, who has that? It’s not like an easy… ‘Oh, well you’re fully Columbian, so we can just tell you what the health probabilities or concerns would be.’” (Participant 9, Hispanic & White).

Two participants’ concerns about accuracy stemmed from the lack of representation and consideration of diverse backgrounds within research. Specifically, they raised concerns about the ability to recruit and distinguish Multiracial individuals from people who identify with one race. One participant noted the omission of her Multiracial identity in surveys as an example:

“Maybe not studying people who are Multiracial… a lot of times in research, you know, like, they typically ask you to identify your race. I feel like a lot of times researchers don’t look at Multiracial people. Like they ask you to identify one race, or if they have you identify that you’re Multiracial, they don’t ask any like, follow up questions. They just have you like, on surveys. they’ll be like, choose whatever racial identity. And then for Multiracial people, it’s just “two”. But it doesn’t actually ask what.” (Participant 11, Hispanic & White).

Finally, one participant expressed skepticism about the ability of current research practices to yield sufficiently powered, and therefore meaningful and actionable, risk assessments. This highlights concerns related to statistical significance and methodology:

“I’d be surprised if the research is at that level that it’s able to say, “Okay, because you’re a mix of these two backgrounds, therefore, your risk is X percent as opposed to… I just don’t think that the sample size of the data that we have out there is large enough to give informed estimates that are meaningfully going to change whether I get screening for a certain condition or not.” (Participant 10, Middle Eastern & White).

It is important to note that this participant works as a physician and has indicated prior research experience. As such, their perspective may be influenced by their biomedical expertise, which could differ from those without similar professional or academic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it demonstrates the broad range of concerns that exist regarding the accuracy of genetics research involving Multiracial individuals.

Theme 3: Preferences for engaging with stages of the translational research process

When asked their top three preferences for which stages of the translational research process they would like to be engaged in, participants selected interpreting results the most frequently, followed by determining recruitment. Tied for third place were developing the research question and communicating findings (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Preferences for engaging with genetics research. Figure 1 is a bar graph titled “Preferences for Engaging with Genetics Research”. It illustrates the frequency of selection among participants for 7 different roles through the genetics research process. ‘Interpreting Results’ and ‘Determining Recruitment’ were selected the most frequently, with frequencies of 11 and 10, respectively. ‘Communicating Findings’ and ‘Developing the Research Question’ were tied for third, with 7 selections each. ‘Defining the Roles’ and ‘Collecting Data’ each had 4 selections, while ‘Compensation’ was selected the least frequent, with only 1 selection

Participants were asked to explain why they considered certain roles to be more important than others. Most often, participants cited their professional skills, prior experiences, or personal interests as reasons for ranking certain roles above others. Participants also prioritized roles that they deemed to be critical to the overall research process, particularly the interpretation of results, as this step leads to the overall conclusions from the study:

“…interpreting results, because that’s probably the most difficult and the most important in terms of what you did your research on.” (Participant 4, White & Asian).

Participants’ Multiracial identities explicitly influenced their selection of two roles: determining recruitment and communicating findings. Regarding recruitment, participants explained that Multiracial individuals might have an easier time recruiting others who share their identity, and perhaps even have more creative ideas for recruitment strategies. Several participants emphasized the importance of recruiting a diverse sample of participants to ensure representation of a broad mix of Multiracial identities. One participant specifically noted that their background would enable them to identify gaps that researchers who do not identify as Multiracial might overlook. Additionally, one participant highlighted that her background as a Multiracial individual could help her clarify the research study’s objectives to potential participants and explain the difference between nuanced terms:

“…especially if you’re trying to explain the difference between race and ethnicity. Like there is a difference between Multiracial and Multiethnic, and you could be both, but they are two separate things.” (Participant 1, Black, White, & Indigenous).

With regard to communicating findings, participants stated that Multiracial individuals might have a greater interest in sharing research findings and perhaps even find it easier to disseminate this information compared to someone who is not part of the community. Participant 11 elaborated on this point by stating the following:

“…and then communicating findings. I just feel like someone that’s Multicultural is probably gonna have more interest in like sharing their findings with other people who are Multicultural or people who, you know, fall within that like cultural identity… they’re gonna have an easier time sharing that finding with their community rather than someone that isn’t part of that community.” (Hispanic & White).

Lastly, to account for roles that may not have been included in the list provided to participants, they were encouraged to propose additional ways that they could contribute to research. Three participants shared suggestions including: interviewing community members, reviewing the funding and publication process, and receiving clear explanations of the impact that their contributions had on the overall goal of the study.

Theme 4: Suggestions for recruitment

Participants were asked to draw on both their experiences as Multiracial individuals and their insights into the Multiracial community to offer suggestions for recruiting others from this population. This portion of the conversation specifically focused on identifying suitable locations and important participant characteristics for recruitment. While a subset of participants identified “determining recruitment” as a preferred way to engage in research, this theme reflects input from all participants regarding recommendations for recruiting Multiracial individuals.

Regarding locations, several participants noted that because the Multiracial population represents a younger and growing community, recruiting from neighborhoods and areas that contain a higher proportion of younger individuals, such as cities/urban areas and universities could be effective. Within cities, participants suggested emerging neighborhoods, ethnic neighborhoods (e.g., Chinatown), and cultural events. Regarding universities, participants specifically mentioned Multicultural sororities and organizations/clubs centered around race or ethnicity. Participants justified their suggestions by mentioning past encounters with individuals of Multiracial backgrounds in these areas.

Regarding participant characteristics, several individuals emphasized the importance of including a range of Multiracial identities, beyond those that are more common in the population. Some participants noted that Biracial individuals who identify as half Black and half White are often considered the most typical Multiracial background. They acknowledged that while recruiting individuals from this racial background is important, including individuals with combinations of other racial backgrounds should also be prioritized. Some individuals specifically emphasized the need to include those with a combination of two or more minority races. For example, Participant 14 mentioned the importance of including individuals who are Asian and Black, as this a more “uncommon”, and potentially marginalized Multiracial group.

“I feel like there’s not only biracial. But there’s like totally like mixed individuals too that are coming from like multiple races. So I would look into that. I think gathering people from like all different realms of the world. Making sure you have some people from all regions.” (Participant 13, Asian & White).

“I feel like a lot of Multiracial people will have like half White in them, since the majority of people in the US are Caucasian people. So there isn’t really a specific one that, if I was talking to a researcher, that I would tell them to focus on, I’d just try to get everybody in there.” (Participant 12, Asian & White).

As previously mentioned, participants recognized society’s shift toward a more diverse population with an increasing number of individuals from multiracial backgrounds. They suggested that recruiting from younger and more open-minded demographics could be advantageous for this reason.