Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Qualitative Study of White R
A Qualitative Study of White R
Jessica Hilbert
ProQuest 10606838
Published by ProQuest LLC (2017 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
All rights reserved.
This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346
Unpublished Work
Jessica Hilbert
2017
Approved By:
I would first like to thank Dr. Singer, my chairperson, for guiding me through this
dissertation process; I would not have been able to reach this point without her support. I would
also like to offer thanks to Dr. Caro and Dr. Kassem for their valuable support and the time they
took helping me refine this document. To my friends, who helped keep me sane. I cannot thank
you enough for allowing me to enter and leave your world as needed with the ebb and flow of
school. To my brother, Matt, you helped inspire me to keep going. Finally and most
importantly, to my parents: I am who I am thanks to your love, support, teaching, and ever
attuned support.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this document to my brother, Aaron, always loved and never
forgotten.
Abstract
According to Pollock and Van Reken (2009), Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are individuals who
have lived a significant amount of time in countries other than their passport country during their
developmental years prior to repatriating. While TCK identity and identity development have
been studied (Schaetti, 2000), there is a dearth of research that examines their racial identity
development. This is unfortunate particularly for White United States American TCKs who have
spent time in non-White countries, as their racial identity begins in a very different setting than
the setting they enter upon repatriation. This author wishes to understand the White TCK
experience of race, as it may not conform to current racial identity models (Helms, 1993; Sue &
Sue, 2009). It is this author’s hope that if White TCK racial experience can be understood, it
will be possible to educate White TCKs, their families, and their educators. This in turn may
better prepare them for the experience of repatriation. In addition, just as many TCKs find
comfort in learning that they develop specific traits and identities due to living across cultures
(Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000), they may find comfort in having their racial
experience normalized.
Table of Contents
Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 8
i
Chapter 3: Research Design and Method...................................................................................... 25
Chapter Overview ..................................................................................................................... 25
Procedures ................................................................................................................................. 29
Instrumentation.......................................................................................................................... 30
Trustworthiness ..................................................................................................................... 32
Reflexivity ............................................................................................................................. 33
Assumptions .............................................................................................................................. 36
Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 36
Summary ................................................................................................................................... 38
Results ....................................................................................................................................... 40
Participants ................................................................................................................................ 40
Identity ...................................................................................................................................... 42
ii
Race ........................................................................................................................................... 47
Racial Identity........................................................................................................................ 48
Reflections on Race ............................................................................................................... 53
Privilege .................................................................................................................................... 55
Emotion-Based Reactions...................................................................................................... 89
Thought-Based Reactions ...................................................................................................... 95
Action-Based Reactions ...................................................................................................... 105
Rigor ........................................................................................................................................ 113
iii
Race ..................................................................................................................................... 116
Privilege ............................................................................................................................... 118
TCK Identity ........................................................................................................................ 119
Feelings of Membership ...................................................................................................... 120
Response to Information and/or Events............................................................................... 121
Integration of Findings and Research Literature ..................................................................... 123
iv
1
Background
When I was in my second year of college, I attended a workshop focused on racism in the
United States. In order to illuminate the nature of White privilege, the presenter named
characteristics of privilege that are afforded to Whites in the United States but are not available
to non-Whites. Everyone had strips of paper and glue, and each time a characteristic was listed
that was not true for you, you were to make a paper ring, and form a chain of links with the rings.
I found myself confused as to what to do. Living in the United States, all of the privileges listed
were ones I was provided as a White woman, including easily finding makeup in my skin-tone,
regularly seeing individuals of my race in positions of power or on magazine covers, and not
being targeted by policemen due to my race. However, these were not true of my life up until
the age of 18. My makeup had to be bought in the United States on vacation or shipped to me by
my grandparents because in Cameroon, the makeup available was for Black skin. The local
magazines and public officials were all African. Gendarmes, the term for Cameroonian
policemen carrying assault rifles, often targeted my family and pulled us over because we were
White. I did not know how to complete the exercise, was I to create the chain based on my first
18 years of life, or go without a chain as I had for the past year? How was I to understand what
being White meant in my life? I raised my hand and asked the presenter, who quickly ignored
the nuance of my question by saying that we were only talking about racism in the US. It was
clear to me at that moment that my White identity was not the same as that of my peers, I was the
only one in the room who had lived both with and without a chain, always with privilege, but
also as a minority.
Unlike many of my Global Nomad (a synonym for Third Culture Kids) peers, I had
parents who adeptly scaffolded me through our many moves, acknowledged the grieving process
2
this entailed, and taught me about my identity as a Third Culture Kid. As a result, the above
story was the only time I was caught off guard by the ramifications of my life abroad. This has
inspired my interest in understanding how other White United States American TCKs have
experienced their racial identity. Throughout this study, the term “Americans” will specifically
refer to United States Americans. A better understanding of White TCK racial identity will
hopefully allow teachers and parents of TCKs to prepare their children for the experience of
repatriation so that they are not left feeling as alone and misunderstood as I did in that workshop.
With the rise of globalization and technologies that facilitate communication across large
distances, the world we live in has become less divided along national and cultural lines. While
this creates a new world for many, it is the norm for the number of adults who have grown up as
Third Culture Kids/Global Nomads. Dr. Useem first used the term “Third Culture Kid” (TCK)
when she began studying expatriate children living in India (Useem, 1993). She developed this
concept based on the observation that these children grew up in a world that was somewhere
between the culture of their parents and that of the nation in which they lived. The children she
observed lived in a world of expatriates where as a group they neither held the identity of their
home nation nor their host nation. They had a culture of their own, a third culture. Over time,
the concept of TCKs has been refined, most notably by Pollock and Van Reken (2009). They
defined TCKs as individuals who spent a significant amount of time in a country other than their
passport country during their developmental years, and eventually returned to their passport
nation. The term Global Nomads is also used to describe this population.
Global Nomads have been identified in a myriad of ways by the current TCK/Global
Nomad literature (Downey, 2012; Fail et al., 2004; Pearce, 2011; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009;
Schaetti, 2000). They are identified through their nationality, first language, supporting
3
organization, mobility history, and general marginality. Global Nomad identity is complicated
by the fact that the definition covers a heterogeneous group of individuals with a wide range of
experiences regarding the amount of time spent abroad, the level of interaction they have with
host nation locals or expatriates. Some TCK’s repatriate repeatedly and have a home base in
their passport country, while others do not repatriate until they attend a university, or later in life
(Downey, 2012; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). Much has been written on the
characteristics that Global Nomads seem to share. Amongst these are adaptability, open-
mindedness, a larger world view of culture, a shared experience of disenfranchised grief, and
often a feeling of belonging nowhere while being able to fit in anywhere (Downey, 2012;
Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). While TCK identity and identity development
have been greatly examined, there is little written specifically regarding TCK racial identity
development. The literature examines views on nationality and marginality, but it does not
understanding how prejudice is maintained. Through the work of Helms (1990), the field has
developed an understanding of the process White and Black individuals go through as they
grapple with their racial identity. It is important to understand how American TCKs understand
their racial identity because upon repatriation they enter a world that is strongly influenced by a
unique racial history and racial present. In addition, as Global Nomads repatriate, they are likely
to struggle with the new racial world they have entered. Helping them understand their new
surroundings requires an understanding of the role that race plays in this new environment. This
study will focus on White American TCKs who have repatriated from countries whose
populations are majority non-White. In this dissertation, the researcher posits that their racial
4
understanding may not fit the current models of White racial development as a result of their
time abroad.
This author proposed to study Global Nomad’s understanding of their race guided by the
models of Black and White racial identities put forth by Helms (1990), through Bronfenbrener’s
(Miller, 2011) bioecological theory, and finally through Schaettii’s (2000) model of Global
Nomad identity development. Helms’ (1990) model was used to create questions that examine
issues of privilege, power, and racial attitudes. Bronfenbrener’s bioecological theory guided
questions that aimed to understand how varied systems in TCK’s lives helped inform their racial
development and understanding (Miller, 2011). Finally, Schaetti’s (2000) model informed
research questions designed to examined factors that impacted TCK development such as
repatriation experiences and nationality identity. This study explored racial development from a
qualitative, content analysis approach, as no theory currently exists that takes into account the
Problem Statement
Every year, White American TCKs repatriate into a racial world that is unique due to the
United States’ insular experience of race relations. The theories on racial identity development
do not account for the unique multicultural world experienced by TCKs (Downie, 1976; Fail et
al., 2004; Schaetti, 2000). To help repatriated Global Nomads adjust to this new world and
become a positive force in it, those who interact with Global Nomads must understand the
The present study explored how White, American TCKs understand their racial identity,
the process by which they came to this understanding, and the role that repatriation played in the
5
development of these views. Another important topic of exploration was the effect of being
visually distinctive while living abroad and the subsequent impact on their racial identity.
Conceptual Framework
American TCKs who lived in predominantly non-White countries. No theories currently exist to
explain this phenomenon. Helms (1990), Hardiman (1982), and Sue and Sue (2008) have all
described different theories of White racial identity development. However, these theories are
based on White United States citizens who are a privileged majority group, and thus do not
address the experience of living as a racial minority. The development models that speak to
minority experiences, however do not speak to the experience of being privileged (Helms, 1990;
Sue & Sue, 2008). Schaetti (2000) provided the field with an understanding of Global Nomad
identity development. Dr. Schaetti’s model includes nationality as a component, but does not
address racial identity development or beliefs. Using the frameworks put forth by Helms (1990)
and Schaetti as well as Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, this author interviewed adult
repatriated TCKs to better understand their experience of racial development both before and
after repatriation.
The scope of this study has been narrowed significantly so that it can attempt to cover a
specific racial experience. It is limited specifically to US American TCKs. This decision was
made due to the unique nature of racial dynamics in the US. While race and racial prejudice
exists all over the world, the attitudes linked to race are unique to each country’s history. To
ensure that the information gathered is accurate for repatriating US Americans, it is important to
In addition, there are Black, biracial, and multiracial US American TCKs who likely have
a very different experience both abroad and repatriating. This author chose to explore White
racial identity specifically because of the switch that happens upon repatriation, where Global
Nomads go from being visually recognizable to being part of a majority. This is likely a
different process than that of racial minority US Americans who, while they return to a different
racial world, maintain their visual minority status. This is also the rationale for only selecting
Moreover, the scope of the study was limited to TCKs who first lived abroad before the
age of nine, and who spent at least six years living abroad. This is to ensure that they
experienced the racial dynamics of being part of a multicultural expatriate community and being
a privileged racial minority early in their development, and that they were still abroad when they
reached a time when they could think critically about the experience.
Adult Third Culture Kids (TCKs)/Global Nomads (GNs) are adults who lived a significant
amount of time outside of their passport nation as children and have repatriated or will repatriate
to their passport country at some time (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). For the purposes of this
study, this required that individuals first lived abroad before the age of nine and spent at least six
years abroad.
Constructive marginality is a state where individuals not only understand how to play
different roles as situations require, but also have an internal set of codes and an internal culture
that they identify with (Paige, Jacobs-Cassuto, Yershova, & DeJaeghere, 2003).
7
Disenfranchised grief is grief that occurs when the object of the grief is one that is not
recognized by the griever’s community, thus complicating the griever’s process of understanding
Encapsulated marginality is a state of being where individuals are able to play different
roles depending on their situation, but they feel they are in a cultural “no man’s land” (Paige et
al., 2003).
Ethnocentric worldview is one in which individuals feel that their culture is the ideal
culture and that other cultures are at worst silly or nonsensical, and at best only different on a
surface level as all people are the same deep down (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003). The
ethnocentric stage includes three distinct developmental periods, Denial of Difference, Defense
Ethnorelative worldview is a state of recognizing that other cultures exist and are
considered no more or less relevant than their own (Hammer et al., 2003). This worldview
The results of this study can provide insight into the experience of White American TCKs
and further inform interventions to support this population before and after repatriation. Parents
of TCKs will be able to develop an understanding of what to expect for their children, and
identify strategies to support their development so that they have a more positive experience both
abroad and upon repatriation. Teachers and guidance counselors who work with Global Nomads
may be able to use the information to support their students and prepare them for the struggles
they face while expatriates and as they transition to a life in the United States.
8
One of the most difficult aspects of Global Nomad life is feeling marginalized and not
understanding why (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). Providing TCKs themselves
with a clear framework with which to understand their current and future experiences could go a
long way to ameliorating their well-being and transition process. In addition, another struggle
Global Nomads face is anxiety upon entering new situations (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009;
Schaetti, 2000). They are often described as being chameleons and adept at fitting in, but this
may mean that upon repatriating to the United States, they will blend in to the racial culture as it
is, instead of using their unique intercultural understanding to combat prejudice. Disseminating
a model for understanding White racial identity may help recruit a population of individuals to
fight prejudice. This researcher focused on American TCKs, recruited after repatriation to the
United States, however the themes discovered about an international cross-cultural life may be
Summary
This researcher examined the way in which White American Global Nomads develop an
additional topic for exploration was repatriation to the United States, with its unique racial
culture, and how this affects one’s understanding of racial identity. The rationale for this course
of study was to help TCKs understand this process for their own well-being, and to provide those
who support them with tools to help them with this process.
development, and intercultural sensitivity provide models for understanding the studied construct
(Greenholtz & Kim, 2009; Helms & Carter, 1990; Paige et al., 2003; Schaetti, 2000). However,
none of these models address all the unique components that White American TCKs face. It is
9
the hope of the author that using the literature as a foundation, a qualitative interview process
will allow her to develop an understanding of this phenomenon that integrates the current models
Introduction
This section will review research pertaining to the experience of TCKs. In particular, this
chapter will address issues related to identity, loss, repatriation, marginality, open-mindedness,
and identity development. Pollock and Van Reken (2009) provided a general overview of TCK
life and a framework that can be been used for further exploration. Pedersen, and Sullivan
(1964) examined the issue of mobility focusing on parental attitudes. Gilbert (2008) studied in-
depth the issues of loss and grief. Many authors focused on Repatriation, which is a key
component in Schaetti’s (2000) model for Global Nomad identity development. Marginality was
a common thread found in all accounts of TCK literature, as was the attribute of open-
mindedness (Melles & Schwartz, 2013; Pollock & Van Recken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). Further
research explored TCKs’ open-mindedness through the correlation between mobility and
prejudice (Melles & Schwartz, 2013). Schaetti (2000) outlined an in-depth model of Global
Nomad Identity development. This chapter will further review the different models of White
racial identity development as described by Helms (1990) and Sue and Sue (2008), looking to
Research Strategy
Initially, the researcher reviewed literature on the topic of Third Culture Kids broadly.
The writer started out with the EBSCO database using the key terms Third Culture Kid/s, Global
Nomad/s, Missionary Kid/s, Military Kid/s, and additive terms such as grief, identity, mobility,
and development. The impetus for this study began after discovering the case study of Lena and
intercultural hybridity (Greenholtz & Kim, 2009). In this article, authors found that the
participant, a Global Nomad, held traits of both ethnorelative and ethnocentric worldviews. The
11
author then sought out works linked to Schaetti and the Intercultural Development Inventory
(Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003; Paige et al., 2003; Schaetti, 2000). Literature on racial
identity came from Sue and Sue (2008), Helms (1990), Helms (1992), and Hardiman (1982). All
provided insight into White racial identity and served as a foundation for discussion on identity
development of TCKs.
Global Nomads are often defined in large part by the organization that sponsored their
family’s life abroad (Downey, 2012; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). Each
sponsoring organization was found to have a unique set of goals, rules, and codes by which they
operated. Sponsoring organizations may include the military, diplomatic agencies, missionary
Organizations (NGOs) usually with the aim of providing humanitarian support. According to
research, not only did these organizations play a role in providing an initial identity, but they
affected the amount of support TCKs and their families received, as well as their level of
mobility.
Mobility was one of the experiences all TCKs shared (Downey, 2012; Pollock & Van
Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). While not all TCKs moved repeatedly or often, the majority lived
in settings where others were constantly moving. Even when a Global Nomad may not be
changing countries, he or she was likely losing at least one friend or teacher to a move, and may
have a parent who travels often (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). This created an
environment where the only constant was change. In contrast, their US American peers could
generally expect to live in the same house and have access to the same friends for extended
periods of time. The only thing that stayed the same for many TCKs was the presence of their
12
nuclear family (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009), and even this was not always guaranteed in a
Along with mobility came the experience of loss (Gilbert, 2008; Pollock & Van Reken,
2009). As Global Nomads moved, or those around them moved, they experienced repeated
losses of social support and environmental familiarity. Early on TCKs went through repeated
grieving experiences, and this often paralleled a similar process experienced by their parents
(Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). Unfortunately, not all TCKs received support through this
process, as their parents and teachers may not have understood the toll this takes on children
(Pascoe, 2006). Gilbert (2008) explored this theme in a recent study. She noted that much of the
grief experienced by TCKs could be understood as “disenfranchised grief”, or loss that is not
recognized by the griever’s social world, as it does not fit a traditional model of loss due to death
of a human one was close to (Gilbert, 2008). The grieving process is a difficult one, and it
became even more difficult when one did not receive the acknowledgment or support of their
community. One can hope that through the work of researchers such as Pollock and Van Reken
(2009), Schaetti (2000), and Pascoe (2006) that this will become less of a struggle as more
literature and support exists to draw from for the parents and educators of TCKs.
Global Nomads repeatedly reported feeling that they did not belong in any one setting
(Fail et al., 2004; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). In their host country, they may have had
relationships with host natives, but clearly came from a different culture. When they repatriated,
they have been of the same nationality as their peers, but their experiences were anything but
similar, and they were often behind on pop culture references. This feeling of not belonging can
be exemplified by the common dread TCKs had of being asked where they are from, to which
there is rarely one easy answer. A TCK’s nationality may not be the same as their birthplace, or
13
the country they grew up in (Fail et al., 2004; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000).
Another example of this marginality came when a Global nomad was asked to identify a “home”,
a question to which they also often had multiple answers, none of which encapsulated the
concept. All of this may leave Global Nomads feeling isolated, misunderstood by non-TCKs,
and like they must either ignore aspects of their identities to answer questions in a normative
One trait commonly associated with Global Nomads was their ability to adapt to new
situations as a result of living in an ever-changing world (Downey, 2012; Fail et al., 2004;
Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). TCKs and those who know them often described them as
chameleons, able to blend in to most any situation (Downey, 2012; Fail et al., 2004; Pollock &
Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). This was a trait, that when learned, served Global Nomads
well as they were required to modify their behavior not just as they went from school to home,
but from time with individuals of one culture to another, from one country to another, and even
from one language to another. This type of code-switching was normal for them (Fail et al.,
Owing to their time amongst various cultures and experience with peers of many nations
TCKs were often open-minded and tolerant of a wide range of cultures (Fail et al., 2004; Pollock
& Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). They learned quickly that different cultures had different
rules for behavior and customs, and that this did not mean any one behavior was inherently bad
or wrong, but simply inappropriate given the current context (Schaetti, 2000). One study seemed
to support the hypothesis that exposure to multiple cultures led to lower levels of prejudice.
Melles (2013) found that the more countries a TCK lived in the less prejudiced they were. The
14
authors surmised that mobility had this effect because as individuals move, the
stereotypes/prejudices they learned in one culture do not hold true in the next. As they move
Melles (2013) also found that American TCKs showed significantly higher levels of
prejudice than their non-US American TCK peers. The author suggested that this difference may
be due to internalized racial tension that exists in the US. This does have implications for the
current understanding of TCKs as much of the TCK literature is developed with TCKs as
participants. Another study on prejudice was the case study performed on Lena (Paige et al.,
2003). This study evaluated a Global Nomad’s responses to the Intercultural Development
Inventory (IDI) and found a conflicting profile that indicated a world-view that acknowledges
the uniqueness of different cultures without deeming any one preferable, while still minimizing
the differences between individuals. To better understand the implications of Lena’s results, it is
necessary to further examine the assessments used and the theories from which they derive.
Identity Models
The case study examining Lena used a measure developed based on the Developmental
Inventory (IDI) indicated that this measure may not be perfectly applicable to TCK development,
but it provides a strong framework to start from. This theory works on the premise that
individuals travel through six stages of intercultural growth starting with three ethnocentric
stages leading to increasingly complex ethnorelative stages (Hammer et al., 2003). Those in the
ethnocentric stage felt that their culture was the ideal. They began in a state of Denial of
Difference where they were unaware of, or ignorant of cultural differences. Most people in this
stage had little contact with other cultures. They may have started out in a state where they were
15
isolated from other cultures and moved to a point where they actively separated themselves from
other cultures. They then moved into the stage of Defense against Difference, a position of bi-
dimensional thinking where those who are different are negative and threatening, where as those
who are similar are seen in a positive light. This was followed by Minimization of Differences
where people endorsed the idea that differences were only superficial, and that all humans were
The ethnorelative stage began with the position of Acceptance where people not only
recognized cultural differences, but valued them and recognized them as being normal and
understandable (Hammer et al., 2003). This was followed by Adaptation to difference where
individuals began to show empathy and or pluralism. In this case, empathy was the ability to
take on another’s worldview to understand them. Pluralism was the internalization of multiple
worldviews as part of one’s own. Finally, one reached a stage of Integration of difference where
multiple worldviews were integrated into one’s own belief system. This stage resolved either in
simply being able to apply different cultural modalities in different situations (encapsulated
marginality), or later in constructive marginality where not only could one use a range of cultural
codes but also had a base set of beliefs and values of one’s own to draw on (Hammer et al., 2003;
It would seem that this model did capture the range of cultural developmental
understandings TCKs have. Where it may have fallen short is in the belief that ethnorelativity
and ethnocentrism are mutually exclusive. In the case of Lena, she showed predominantly
ethnorelative thinking, except where she endorsed concepts related to people being
fundamentally the same regardless of culture. It is possible that when individuals are not
introduced to multiple cultures these more naïve thoughts are lost when developing ethnorelative
16
patterns. However, it is possible that living between worlds allows one to also live between
ethnorelative and ethnocentric modes. Where this model spoke to intercultural development in
The model Schaetti (2000) developed sought to understand TCK development and the
unique experiences of those who grow up across cultures (Schaetti, 2000). Schaetti identified
four different struggles (Repatriation, Nationality, Difference, and Plurality) that TCKs face, and
the different ways in which they build their identity in regards to these tasks.
Repatriation. Schaetti (2000), along with Pollock and Van Reken, (2009) identified
repatriation as a crucial component of TCK life. Repatriation is the act of moving back, or
sometimes for the first time, to one’s passport nation. It is Repatriation that helps distinguish
TCKs from immigrants and refugees who never expect to live in, or return to their passport
nation (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). It is a complicated aspect of TCK identity
as it is strongly affected by their feelings towards their passport nation, their feelings regarding
their host nation/s, and their level of experience with the culture of their passport nation. How
repatriation was experienced may even affect how they feel about their nationality, and how and
where they choose to live their lives. Schaetti (2000) proposed that the act of repatriation is
transacted in one of three different forms. There are those who identified as Homecomers,
expecting to feel at home in their passport country and having this expectation met. Many, by
contrast, identified as Strangers, meaning that they expect to feel at home in their passport
nation, but were disappointed to find this is not the case upon repatriation. The third contingent
she named Cosmopolites. These individuals recognized prior to repatriating that they would
likely feel somewhat out of place, but understood why and in what ways this will be the case.
17
Nationality. Nationality was often a defining feature of TCKs both in the school
community, and outside of it (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). One’s nationality is
traditionally defined by one’s nation of citizenship. In her article Schaetti recognized that TCKs
may feel allegiances to nations other than their passport nation. In her dissertation, Schaetti used
the term Nationality as being the nation or nations to which a TCK feels loyal. When traveling,
the topic of Nationality was present in the form of one’s passport, and was often how an
individual introduced him or herself (Schaetti, 2000). Schaetti’s (2000) model suggested there
are three different ways Nationality is resolved (Insular, International, Transnational). The first
state in this aspect of development is an Insular national identity. Those who identified as
Insular considered themselves strongly tied only to their passport nationality. These were
individuals who may have touted their country as the best. By contrast, those who exemplified
International identity felt strongly aligned with the mores and ideology of their passport nation
but also had a strong attachment to traveling, experiencing, and understanding other cultures and
nations. Finally, those who were Transnationals may have felt that national identities are no
more than titles. They held little to no allegiance to any one nation and may were ambivalent
Difference. When living abroad, Global Nomads were generally recognizably different
from those born in the host country in a variety of ways including the language they spoke, the
clothes they wore, and/or the color of their skin (Schaetti, 2000). This difference had some
advantages in that it allowed them to connect to their fellow TCK peers, and may have allowed
their errors in behavior to be forgiven. However, it could also be the source of great discomfort.
Schaetti (2000) suggested that TCKs’ different identity could be transacted in one of two ways.
The first being Encapsulated Marginality, a state where they were able to adapt to a variety of
18
situations by using a multitude of learned roles, but felt that they had no distinct identity. The
second being a state of Constructive Marginality where they had not only integrated a range of
cultural scripts, but had also developed an internal script of their own to guide their behaviors.
Plurality. Living in a transcultural world, Global Nomads were faced with the issue of
plurality, or multiple truths on a regular basis (Schaetti, 2000). This included such concrete
things as being exposed to multiple languages and thus a range of words for any one idea, to
many ways of understanding events and behaviors. This is to say that they learned “that truth is
contextually relative” (Schaetti, 2000, p. 105). One of the four possible resolutions to the task of
maintain a state of Dualism, where one maintained the belief that there is a singular truth and that
other options are simply wrong. This was followed by a state of Multiplicity, where individuals
may have felt trapped in a world where there were so many possible truths that one could not be
chosen or held.
Schaetti’s (2000) review of the literature suggested that most global nomads surpassed
these two states and moved at the least to one of Contextual Relativism where the understanding
of truth was based on the context one was in. This was followed by a state of Commitment
Within Relativism where while truth was seen as relative to the context of the moment the
individual also had a set of higher-order values they held to help guide them. While Schaetti’s
developmental challenges that face TCKs, it does not specifically address how TCKs develop
their racial identity. While racial identity may be partially included in the resolution of
Nationality, Difference, and Plurality, none of these areas covers the depth of a TCK’s racial
experience
19
Racial Identity
This section provides information about an aspect of TCK experience that has yet to be
TCKs repatriating to this country are White. Repatriation is a daunting adjustment, and even
more so because one is entering a country with unique racial dynamics. White TCKs who have
lived in predominantly non-White countries have a rather unique experience of being both
minorities and privileged. This combination of traits is rare in the US, and is underrepresented in
the literature. To build a framework for how TCK identity may develop, it is crucial to look at
the racial, TCK, and intercultural identity models the literature does provide.
The earliest model for understanding White racial identity found in the literature was
pioneered by Hardiman (1982). This model divided development into stages of Naïveté,
Acceptance, Resistance, Redefinition, and Internalization. She associated the Naïveté stage with
childhood, where individuals were not aware of the dynamics of race and were simply curious.
The Acceptance stage was a period where individuals believe in the idea that everyone had the
same chances to succeed, and thus any lack of opportunity was due to a failure on the part of that
individual. This begins the process of building attitudes of White superiority. After Acceptance
came the Resistance stage, which occurred when the White person’s beliefs become challenged,
often causing discomfort. This stage may have coincided with an avoidance of Black people as
being made aware of the discrimination they faced was upsetting. It is during the Redefinition
phase that White individuals began to examine their beliefs and prejudices as well as their racial
heritage. Now not only were they aware that they were White, but they began to explore what
this means to them and in the US. Finally, during the Internalization stage, the White individual
20
had an understanding of his White identity free of prejudice and may have committed oneself to
social change.
The Helms model (1990) of White racial identity development starts in the Contact state. Much
like Hardiman’s (1982) Naïveté and Acceptance stages those who were in the contact phase were
ignorant of their White identity, believed that all humans had the same opportunities, and were
Disintegration status, wherein White individuals recognized the dissonance between the ideals of
equality and the inequality they see. They became aware of racist actions or thoughts they had
which contradicted their belief that they were free of prejudice. This, not unlike Hardiman’s
(1982) Resistance stage may be a time when White men/women avoided people of color,
avoided thinking about race, and sought validation from other White individuals.
After the Disintegration status, there was the risk that White individuals may regress and
become entrenched in their beliefs regarding White superiority and minority inferiority. Some
moved to a Pseudoindependence status, which begins the second phase of White racial identity.
This was a stage where a White individual began to understand their racial identity and their role
in fighting racism. They may however, despite good intentions, have maintained racism by
attempting to help minorities adjust to White standards, or keeping their understanding of racism
at an intellectual level. In the Immersion/Emersion status the White person continued their
exploration of their White identity but now with an attempt to change themselves and White
views as opposed to changing minorities. The final status was the Autonomy status where
individuals were better able to be an activist and non-racist force in the world due to reduced
Both of the models discussed above are relevant to White TCK identity. White TCKs,
like their peers, must go through the same stages of understanding what it is to be White. They
will also begin their lives naïve to the effects of race, and need to grapple with the effect race has
on how they are treated. The White model addressed the process of acknowledging White
privilege and feelings of guilt linked to White privilege. Most TCKs living abroad are provided
privileges not available to those in the host country. What the White identity model did not
address, is the issue of living as a racial minority, which is the case for TCKs in predominantly
non-White countries. For these individuals the model for Black identity is relevant because it
addresses the concept of being a visually distinctive minority, and how an individual has to
accept that their appearance may affect how they are treated. The Black identity model,
however, does not cover the experience of privilege. Schaetti’s (2000) model and Hammer,
Bennett, and Wiseman’s (2003) models shared a process of going from black and white ways of
seeing the world to a more relative and nuanced understanding. This is also the case with the
The belief in White superiority was another key component of the Hardiman (1982) and
Helms (1990) models. While there is no lack of attitudes that align with White superiority in
non-White cultures, they are more often linked to a history of colonialism than that of slavery
(Perham, 1959). Thus far, this distinction has not been explored and its effect on White racial
identity is unknown. It may make it possible for White American TCKs to feel separate from the
historic guilt linked to Whiteness in their host countries, given that the US was never a colonial
force. Additionally, more recently Whiteness is linked to humanitarian work (Loftsdóttir, 2009).
Many of the agencies that sponsor TCKs and their families are humanitarian organizations. As
such most of the faces seen providing aid are White, as many of the humanitarian organizations
22
that work in developing countries have their headquarters in majority White countries. Is it
possible that this new association while it still propagates a tone of White superiority may allow
White TCKs to avoid the less positive aspects of White identity? These questions are worth
exploring in the light of Melles’ (2013) finding that American adult TCKs displayed
While current models of White racial identity (Helms, 1990; Sue & Sue, 2008) fit with a
White TCK’s experience of privilege, it involves the experience of being able to live without
countries may not have this luxury, as their race is clearly different and unavoidably so. The
same authors have Black identity models that include the experience of being racially
identifiable as different from the majority, but in the case of Black individuals they do not hold
privilege the way their White counterparts do. As such, neither Black nor White identity models
is this author’s belief that before data can be used to begin developing models or theories of
White racial identity in TCKs it would be ideal to simply observe it through the participant’s
Present Study
For the present study, the author explored how White American’s develop and experience
their Whiteness, both in the US and during their time abroad. In the United States, being White
means many different things. It means one is free not to think about one’s race (Helms, 1990).
It means that one is afforded privileges in the realms of education, work place, and society that
are not available to men and women who are not White. It also comes with vicarious guilt
regarding the US’s history of slavery and civil rights violations towards non-Whites. This is not
23
to say that there are not White men and women who do not have the privileges that come with
higher socio-economic status, only that they still are not burdened by the discrimination that
comes from having darker skin and standing out because of it.
While a White American TCK may be privileged with money and freedoms not afforded
members of the host nation, they can also be discriminated against in small ways. Police may
stop them, not because they are assumed to be doing wrong but in the hopes that a bribe will be
paid to avoid the inconvenience of the interaction. They may be charged higher prices than
others purely because they are seen as being wealthy. Bids may be made for financial support or
help getting a Visa to their host country. They may be affected by the laws of the nation without
having the ability to effect change in those laws. Finally, many of the smaller markers of White
privilege such as being represented in the media, or having makeup in one’s skin color are not
What then happens when someone who has lived in this unique world is immersed in the
racial world of the United States? If they do not seek out an understanding of US racial culture
they may unwittingly become the recipients of a type of privilege that is new. While the
experience of privilege is not new, in this new setting it is based on majority group identity not
minority group inclusion. As such, it may be something they do not see happening.
Global Nomads already struggle with repatriation, and the change in racial culture is yet
another way in which they are different from their peers (Schaetti, 2000). This may cause stress
upon repatriation that parents, teachers, and mental health workers should be aware of.
Furthermore, Global Nomads could benefit from being made aware of not only the general ways
they will feel different and behind in their knowledge of the US world, but specifically how they
may be behind in their racial identity development. This is not to say that they have not
24
developed a racial identity, but that the identity they developed was based on a different world,
and that in the new world of repatriation there is more to learn about their White identity. By
examining their attitudes regarding being White and those of other races this researcher hoped to
develop an understanding of how White TCKs experience and understand their race.
There is a dearth of literature on the topic of Third Culture Kids and White racial identity
development. The subject of White racial identity development has yet to be examined from the
perspective of White American TCKs living in non-White countries. It is true that this is a
relatively unique population, but it is one that faces a host of identity development challenges.
Many of these challenges have come to be described by the literature and intersect the issue of
race, but none of them address it. These Global Nomads face a very specific challenge upon
repatriation as they move from an intercultural world to one that is less international, and to a
country with a very specific racial dynamic. The literature makes clear that feelings of
marginality are common in TCKs, and this is likely no less the case when they repatriate and find
themselves part of a privileged White racial majority and yet understand some of the difficulties
that come from being a racial minority due to their time abroad (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009;
Schaetti, 2000). This author proposed to develop an understanding of how these Global Nomads
developed an appreciation for their Whiteness and how repatriation affected this process.
Qualitative methods were the most appropriate as there is no existing literature that examines and
Chapter Overview
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how White American
Global Nomads understand their racial identity both before and after repatriation to the United
States. This is important because it may help Global Nomads to understand the world they are
entering upon repatriation, and why they may feel different from those around them after this
transition. In addition, data collected in this study may help parents and educators to provide
appropriate supports to ease transitions for this population and to further facilitate an informed,
In this section the author will examine the questions asked during this research, and
explicate methods for gathering and analyzing data. This chapter will also explore why Content
Analysis was chosen as a method of study over other possible methods. Further, this chapter will
The author will identify and describe the tools used and the development of interview
questions. In conjunction, the author will describe her personal connection to this topic along
with her understanding of any biases she may have. This chapter will also include the author’s
assumptions and a description of procedures that were put in place to safeguard the ethical rights
of the participants.
Research Questions
Due to the dearth of research on the topic of White identity in TCKs, and the unique
culture TCKs grow up in, an exploratory, semi-structured focus was necessary to begin
understanding the topic of White identity of those who are privileged minorities. The present
• What does White mean when you live in a country where the majority of the population
has dark skin and when you attend a school where the students around you come from a
• What is it like to be wealthy in the context of your host nation’s population, but perhaps
only lower middle class compared to peers in the host country, or peers back in your
passport nation?
Research Design
that is not yet well documented in the literature. As there is little understanding of this topic,
qualitative methods were used to develop an in-depth understanding. The author chose to take a
approach, which is ideal when there is minimal literature available and one wants to get a clear
understanding of a phenomenon (Creswell, 2013; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). While there are
many sources examining the characteristics and development of TCKs, and the effects of
mobility, the issue of racial identity has been largely untouched. Content Analysis is a method
that systematically examines the use of language as communication, and is a way of examining a
phenomenon (Elo & Kyngäs, 2007; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). Other research designs that could
have been applicable for the present study were grounded theory and phenomenological
methods. Like Content Analysis, both grounded theory and phenomenological approaches
examine language to explore a phenomenon (Elo & Kyngäs, 2007). By contrast, they go further
in their analysis, to not only describe the phenomenon, but also to begin developing a theory or
model for understanding the subject studied. While it may eventually be important to develop a
27
model based on the information gathered about White TCK identity, the process involved with
model development is one that acts to narrow the understanding of the phenomenon. At this
time there is a dearth of literature on this topic. Narrowing the focus too much would not allow
the author to explore how each participant experienced their White identity differently. This ran
the risk of missing important data that could inform later research into the topic. For this reason,
Content Analysis was an ideal method, as it allowed the researcher the freedom to explore the
To be eligible for the study, individuals needed to be White, United States citizens, adult
TCKs who had repatriated to the United States at least once. For the purposes of this study, TCK
was operationalized as individuals who had spent at least 6 years living outside their passport
nations. Time abroad had to occur between at least age 9 and age 18. The time abroad had to
include at least 6 years in non-White countries and preferably included time in International
Schools. The lower age limit was chosen to ensure that racial minority status was experienced
early in individual’s development. The 6-year minimum time abroad was chosen to ensure that
participants were still abroad at an age when they could begin to think about their identity. This
was important because they would be asked to recall it, and if they were too young to have
contemplated the effects of their race while abroad this could limit the usefulness of the
information provided. They must have lived in countries where Whites are a minority as this
causes a distinct change in status upon repatriation to a nation where they are now a member of
the majority group. It is important that they had repatriated to help the examiner explore the
experience of going from being a racial minority group member to a racial majority group
28
member. The choice to only include individuals 18 years old or older was made because
younger individuals are more likely to still be developing an understanding of their identity
overall, and it would be best to document an understanding of identity that may be more stable.
The primary researcher considered only including individuals who attended international schools
because the literature indicates that the experience of a third culture (neither host culture nor
passport culture) has an effect on development, and could influence their exposure to racial
dynamics as international schools are racially diverse (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009). However,
as not all TCKs attend international schools and this is an exploratory study the examiner
included some participants who were predominantly home-schooled while abroad. While not
experiences, those who were home-schooled did still receive exposure to both home culture and
questionnaire to assess their eligibility for the study (Appendix A). Those participants who met
the criteria then received emails letting them know that they were eligible and setting up a means
their rights as participants and were asked to sign an informed consent form. The information in
the consent form were reviewed again verbally prior to taping the interview.
The researcher planned to interview 10-12 participants, or until saturation of data was
reached and no new categories emerged while coding. After coding interviews by seven
participants, no new large categories were added to the coding. When this was still true after a
total of 10 interviews had been coded, the researcher,, with confirmation from the auditor
29
decided that saturation had been met. While criteria only required that participants spend 6 years
abroad the researcher worked to include participants who had spent more years abroad during
their childhoods. In addition, an effort was made to include participants who ranged in age and
socioeconomic status, lived in different host nations, and had been sponsored by a range of
employers.
Procedures
The participants for this study were recruited by advertising the study through
International School Alumni groups, Third Culture Kid/Global Nomad social media groups, and
through a social media International Research group using the flyer in Appendix A.
Furthermore, snowballing was used to help gather more participants. Snowballing is a process
by which possible participants were asked to send the information regarding participation to
individuals they know, who were asked to do the same. The Global Nomad and international
communities are often close-knit communities, and it is likely that those who first come in
contact with the participation information will know of others who might meet participation
criteria. Participants had their names entered in to a raffle to win one of three $30 Amazon gift
cards.
inclusion criteria for participants. Upon expressing interest participants received an informed
which helped confirm their appropriateness for the study. The primary researcher subsequently
scheduled a time to meet for the semi-structured interview (Appendix D) by phone. Prior to the
interview, the researcher reviewed consent, addressing participants’ right to withdraw at any time
without penalty, and permission to record the interview was received and documented.
30
Following the interview, the author asked participants about their level of distress and
provided referral information for health care services should the process be upsetting, or become
upsetting after they left the interview. The author and a research assistant transcribed the
interviews and transcriptions were sent to participants for final approval before being coded by
the author.
Instrumentation
Interview Tools
The author used a basic demographics questionnaire to ensure participants’ eligibility for
the study, and to understand the intricacies of each participant’s unique Global Nomad
experience (Appendix B). In addition, the author developed a semi-structured interview that
asked participants to describe how they identify themselves, how they identify their race,
whether their understanding of their identity had changed over time, and which factors had been
part of forming their identity (Appendix D). This interview was developed with the models such
as the Helms’ White racial identity development model (1990), the Intercultural Development
Inventory (Hammer et al., 2003), and Schaetti’s (2000) model of TCK identity development in
mind. In addition, questions were also created based on the author’s own experience as a White
TCK. To control for personal biases, the initial and follow up questions were designed to be
open ended so that the participant was not led to respond in ways that validate the author’s
Data Analysis
While participants reviewed transcripts the primary researcher analyzed the subsequent
data using qualitative content analysis. Participants’ thoughts on the transcripts were kept in
mind during the analysis. In only one situation did a participant feel there was a
31
reviewed the transcript and the audio and agreed that the participant’s memory was accurate, and
made the appropriate change to the transcript. All other participants either had no revisions, or
small grammatical comments that did not modify the thematic content of their interviews. There
are three types of content analysis, conventional, directed, and summative (Hsieh & Shannon,
2005). Directed content analysis was not deemed appropriate for this study as it uses existing
research to guide the development of codes picked out of the interview transcripts. As there is
no research on this topic a less guided approach was more appropriate. Summative content
analysis uses counting, comparing, and interpreting the identified words in the transcript. This
focus on specific words narrows the meanings found in the text. By contrast conventional
content analysis like summative content analysis stays very true to the data, but allows for a
broader analysis of the text. Thus the researcher chose to do conventional content analysis.
The first step in the coding process was to read each interview carefully as a whole, so as
to fully engage with it as one narrative (Elo & Kyngäs, 2007). The formal coding started with
identifying quotes that expressed concepts or experiences that recur within the interviews. These
served as a first level, or in vivo codes (Weintraub, 2009). Through this process the researcher
was able to identify the core ideas expressed in each interview. The researcher then looked for
common themes across interviews. When this process was completed the researcher had a list of
codes that epitomize the themes expressed in the interviews. The second step was to examine
the in vivo codes and organize them in groups (categories) that share common characteristics
(Weintraub, 2009). When this was completed, the researcher had a list of categories. Finally,
these categories were examined for ways in which they may express larger concepts (Weintraub,
2009).
32
The researcher did the initial review of the transcripts and developing of the codes. The
examiner then reviewed the data and the coding with my dissertation chair, who has extensive
experience with qualitative data analysis. The examiner’s dissertation chair then reviewed the
Trustworthiness
To ensure dependability, an interview protocol was developed that was practiced with the
auditor prior to administering it to participants. This was done to ensure that all participants
were responding to the same questions. The questions developed were chosen based on those
questions used by other researchers whose models for understanding racial identity development
and cultural sensitivity have been tested (Helms & Carter, 1990; Paige et al., 2003). In addition,
questions were developed based on the author’s own experience of this phenomenon, with an
understanding of Reflexivity, the idea that in qualitative research the researcher’s behaviors and
choices will have an impact on the investigation (Lietz, Langer, & Furman, 2006). Any
questions stemming from the author’s experiences were reviewed to ensure they were open-
ended and would not unduly influence the participant’s portrayal of their experiences as they
Threats to trustworthiness included the fact that the questions asked were face valid and
participants may have felt a need to modify their answers to maintain social desirability.
Another threat was that these questions asked participants to remember their experiences with
race from the past. There was the risk that their memories were inaccurate, or anachronistic to
current life abroad. In addition, there was the risk that the examiner’s biases would affect the
process of the interview and participants may have felt a pull to present their experiences in a
Reflexivity
In qualitative research, the examiner and the examiner’s experiences are an important
part of the research process. The creation of interview questions, the course the interview takes,
and the process of coding are all subject to the examiner’s personal bias. For this reason, it was
important to understand where the examiner may have areas of insight, where he or she may
have biases, and what steps were taken to ensure that the results were not influenced by
confirmation bias.
This research topic is one that is strongly linked to my personal experiences as a White
Global Nomad (GN). I was born in Canada to a White Canadian mother and White American
father. By the time I was six-weeks-old, I was on a transatlantic flight to the nation of Rwanda.
I lived in Rwanda, Mauritania, Morocco, The Gambia, Cameroon, and India before repatriating
to the United States at the age of 18. My father worked for Catholic Relief Services, (CRS) a
Non-Governmental Organization supported by the Catholic Church of the United States. CRS
provides a wide range of services to developing countries. Most of my father’s positions with
CRS involved working in-country, and thus required that we live in-country. I lived a mixed life
while abroad. We ate many American dishes, I attended international schools with US American
curricula, some of my friends were Americans with diplomatic, NGO, or international business
employees as parents, and my summers were spent visiting our extended family in the US and
Canada. These American influences were all framed by a life in countries where the majority of
those around me were Black or Brown, often spoke a different native language, ate different
foods, came from vastly different cultures, and were of a much lower socio-economic status.
times made relatively little money compared to his peers in the US. However, by comparison to
34
the average income of those in our host countries, we were incredibly wealthy. In addition,
housing, schooling, and transportation were often provided as part of my father’s job. As such,
we were of a high socio-economic status by our host nation’s standards. We lived in stand-alone
houses with guards and gates. We had a full-time maid, and later on in my life also had a driver
and a cook, all luxuries only available to the very wealthy in the United States. By contrast, we
had access to items such as electric kitchen utensils, television, cable TV, and phone service,
which are normal in the United States but luxuries abroad. We also had access to heated running
water, plumbing, electricity, and gas, which while considered basic amenities in the United
A large component of certain stages of the racial identity theories developed in the United
States is the idea of White privilege and the ability to go through the world without knowing one
has a racial identity. This was not the case living as a White minority. At a very early age, I was
quite aware that my skin color was different and that I was afforded different opportunities than
those around me. While my White identity was clear, my understanding of what it meant to be
White was inherently linked to my socio-economic status, nationality, and social privilege.
Being White marked me as wealthy, afforded luxuries others did not have, and
opportunities for travel, freedom, justice, education, and future prospects unavailable to the
majority of those in my host country. As an American, I was also keenly aware of my country’s
role in slavery and the damage it did to African nations. I was also however, free of the burden
of imperialist guilt. Americans may have captured and bought slaves from Africa, they however
did not have a hand in the colonization of nations and destruction of the native cultures where I
was living. While my nationality protected me from this birthright, my skin color did not.
35
It was my privileged identity as an expatriate that was the most prominent aspect of my
life. In school and the expatriate community, I found a shared experience. We were not color-
blind, we recognized our peers’ racial identities in that those from African nations were generally
Black, and those from European countries were generally White, but the focus was on their
national identities and their travel experience. Our shared experience was that of being
Upon repatriation, my racial identity had different meaning. I became the recipient of
White privilege in a new way. While I had privileges abroad, I was not free to ignore my race.
Where once I stood out in a crowd and could be the victim of prejudice and both positive and
negative treatment due to my skin color, I now blended in. I did not have to think about the color
of my skin in this new life. I went from living in a world where I was different and this
difference was visible in my appearance to one where my difference was invisible. In addition, I
were open ended and allowed participants to express their personal developmental path. Follow
up questions were developed that are equally neutral so as not to lead participants towards
describing their experience in a way that validated my own. It has become clear through the
research that my experience as a global nomad was possibly unique in that my parents worked
hard even early on to mitigate the risks associated with a globally mobile upbringing. There is
the strong possibility that many of the participants I recruited did not have the benefit of this
parental buffering. As such, I needed to ensure that my questions allowed for alternative
experiences to be expressed. The research on TCKs shows us that while global life leads to
36
some common traits these traits are not shared by all TCKs. Allowance needed to be made for
distinctive strongly. I also felt significant guilt regarding my privileged status. I also
experienced myself as being “color blind” when younger. Finally, I struggled with what it meant
to be White in the United States. I may have been tempted to see the same experiences in the
words of other TCKs. I may have expected their understanding of Whiteness abroad to be
enmeshed with SES, privilege, and some discrimination. Their experience however, may have
been very different from my own. They may in fact have struggled more with their identity
Assumptions
One key assumption in this study was that participants were being honest when
recounting their history and views on race, and when answering questions. The author also
assumed that they were participating willingly. Finally, the author assumed that given the lack
of information on White racial identity, a qualitative interview approach was the most effective
Limitations
This study was limited in that it had a small sample size, and thus results may not be
generalizable. This sample was recruited using snowballing and advertising through social
media. This means that participants were self-selected, not randomly selected from the
population. This makes it more likely that those who chose to participate were those who had
strong feelings regarding the topic. In this way, the researcher may not have to opportunity to
gather data from individuals whose experiences were less polarized. While interviews were
37
audited by the researcher’s committee chair as the coding process is a subjective one, there is the
risk that the coding process included a personal bias. Given the small sample size, there was a
risk that either too narrow a range of White US American TCKs were represented, or that due to
individual differences their experiences did not represent the true scope of White TCK racial
identity experiences. Due to the personal nature of interviews, there was the risk that the
author’s view asserted itself in the participants’ responses despite efforts to maintain neutrality.
Ethical Assurances
While the research proposed did not carry with it great risk of harm to the participants
there were some ethical concerns to be aware of. As is true for all research it was important that
participants be made clearly aware of their rights. The most important of these rights was the
right to refuse to participate. During the informed consent process, the researcher reminded
participants that they may choose to withdraw from the research at any time. They received this
information before the interview and were encouraged to relate any concerns to the interviewer
at any time after the interview. Participants signed paperwork during the original informed
consent process, and provided verbal confirmation prior to the interview. After reviewing the
transcript, no participant indicated major concerns or inaccuracy, nor any desire to be withdrawn
from the research In addition participants were offered a minimal compensation this
compensation was to be given after they have completed their involvement in the study
regardless of whether they participate until the end. Once they were deemed eligible and had
signed an informed consent form, they had done all they need to be eligible for the amazon gift
card raffle, although to incentivize continued participation it would not be presented to them
until they either completed the study or choose to withdraw from it. This was not done purely to
incentivize participation, but also was an artifice of the recruitment timeline. Not all participants
38
in the raffle were identified when the first participants were being interviewed. They were not
required to complete the interview, or approve their transcript to be compensated. In this way,
Participants were made aware of their right to confidentiality and the procedures used to
ensure their confidentiality. To start their names and identifying information were separated
from all other information and kept encrypted on a separate hard drive locked in a lockbox.
When reporting the results of the interviews, participants were identified by number and the
information reported was limited in such a way as to ensure their identity could not be deduced.
While the interview questions were designed to be free of traumatic content there was
always the risk that participants may become upset during the process. Time and resources were
prepared to ensure that should a participant become upset that their distress was managed
appropriately. The primary researcher informed participants that they had the right to stop the
interview or not answer questions that upset them. This was important given that for many race
is a sensitive topic, and could be linked to some upsetting events in a participant’s history.
Summary
The present study analyzed how White US American Global Nomads develop an
understanding of their racial identity. Understanding this process would allow Global Nomads
and those who support them to not only develop healthy racial identities, but also to more
smoothly manage the transition from life abroad to that of life in the US. In addition, Helms
(1992) suggested that for racism to be effectively combated in the US, White Americans must
have a healthy racial identity. If this is the case, understanding the development process may
increase the number of individuals who can begin to combat racism in the United States by
The author proposed to study this construct through a Content Analysis research design.
The scope of this study was limited to White US Americans who had spent time in non-White
countries. This inclusion criteria was essential; White TCKs have the unique experience of
leaving a world where they are a visually distinct member of a privileged minority and entering
one where they become invisible members of a privileged majority. They may also have
experienced a third multicultural expatriate culture where race, while being acknowledged is
trustworthiness, the questions developed for the semi-structured interview were drawn from the
current constructs used to assess White racial identity, TCK development, and intercultural
sensitivity, and the author’s own experiences (Helms & Carter, 1990; Paige et al., 2003; Schaetti,
2000). While Schaetti’s (2000) model has yet to be studied in a quantitative format those of
Helms and Bennet and Hammer have gone through quantitative analysis. Furthermore, questions
were developed in an open-ended format to minimize interference from the author’s biases.
The semi-structured interview was first reviewed and practiced with the researcher’s
chair to provide an opportunity to make any necessary adjustments prior to the first formal
interview. This was to ensure that each participant went through a similar process. In addition,
each interview while coded by the researcher was audited by the researcher’s chair to help ensure
reliability of coding. Limitations to this study included a small sample size, non-random
selection of participants, a lack of control group, and a subjective process of coding. Moreover
for the purposes of the study the author must assume that participants were willing and answered
honestly.
40
Chapter 4: Findings
Introduction
In this chapter, the author will review the demographics of the participants, the data
gathered, the process of analyzing the data, and the results of that analysis. Participants included
10 Third Culture Kids. The primary investigator conducted all interviews. The writer and a
research assistant transcribed the interviews. The writer coded the interviews into six
overarching categories: Identity, Race, Privilege, Third Culture Kid Identity, Feelings of
Results
Participants
Ten participants were interviewed for this research. Participants were predominantly
female (N=9) with one male participant. Participant ages ranged from 20 years of age to 67
years of age with a mean of age of 33. Four different schooling experiences were represented by
the participants, with over half being home schooled for a period of their lives (N=6), over half
attending international schools for a period of time (N=6), half attending boarding school (P=5),
and a few (N=3) attending public schools for periods of time. Half of the participants only
experienced one school setting (N=5) with the others attending at least two different school types
over their childhoods. The amount of time spent in countries in which White individuals were a
minority ranged from 6 years to 18 years with a mean of 11.5 years. Half of the participants first
moved to a non-White country as toddlers or infants (N= 5). A few moved to their first non-
White country by the age of 6 (N=3), and a few (N=2) moved after the age of 8. Most
participants (N= 7) repatriated multiple times with the first repatriation ranging from 1 year of
age to 11 years of age. Three participants only repatriated once, these participants repatriated at
the ages of 16 and 18. All participants have received some higher education in the United States.
41
Participants came from a range of sponsoring agencies. Over half (N=6) had parents who
worked for Missionary or Church-based organizations. Several participants (N=2) had parents
who worked for Non-Government Agencies (NGOs). One (N=1) participant had parents who
were International School staff, and one (N=1) had parents who worked for the State
Department. One (N=1) participant also expatriated as an adult working for the Peace Corps.
Several participants (N=3) lived in only one non-White country. Most (N=7) lived in at least
two Non-White countries. Most participants (N=7) spent time in Asian countries. Many (N=6)
spent time in African countries, and only one (N=1) spent time in South/Central America. All
together participants lived in the following countries; South Korea, Taiwan, India, China,
Thailand, Japan, Nepal, Hong Kong, Peru, Mexico, Cameroon, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Egypt,
Data analysis began with the primary investigator or research assistant transcribing each
interview. After a holistic reading of an interview, the author then went through each interview
identifying quotes that shared information relevant to the topic of the study. Each quote was
then summarized. The author worked to use the participant’s own language, to create the
summary so as to minimize personal bias or interpretation. Finally, each quote was categorized
based on the type of information the participant was providing, with an effort made to have
categories reflect the participant’s words not the writer’s interpretation of statements. As the
information was categorized quotes were grouped thematically and integrated into an outline
with a hierarchy of thematic categories. As each interview was coded the information was either
added directly to the outline, or the outline was modified to accommodate new themes and types
of information shared. As more interviews were coded the outline underwent fewer changes
until only minor changes were made with each additional interview. The last three interviews
42
coded required no fundamental changes. This lack of restructuring led to the decision that
saturation of data had been reached and analysis of the data could move forward.
Overview of Concepts
Concepts divided into six larger categories. Identity looked at aspects or characteristics
that individuals feel define them, as well as the events or factors that had an influence on each
participant’s identity development. The category of Race includes how individuals identify their
race, how others identify the participant’s race, and how individuals feel or think about race.
Privilege looks at what aspects of privilege individuals experienced based on location and their
feelings about their privilege. Third Culture Kid Identity combines experiences individuals
relate to their TCK identity, their thoughts on TCK identity, and experiences related to
repatriation. Feelings of belonging looks at ways in which individuals felt they belonged, were
part of a group, or excluded from a group; either by their own perception or the perception of
others. Finally, Responses to information and events, explores ways in which participants
reacted to their environment, and these responses ranged from thoughts to actions, to emotions.
Identity
The category of identity focuses on how participants describe themselves and the
characteristics that they feel are representative of their identities. This category looked not only
at how participants see themselves now but also examined self-perceived traits as they may have
changed over time. Finally, this category also included information regarding factors that helped
Identifying Characteristics
Almost half of the participants (N=4) mentioned Nationality as a part of their identity.
For Participant 9 this part of the participant’s identity came with a choice, “I’ve chosen to like
say this is my home and I’m American and I’m proud to be American”(P9, p. 1). Part of
43
Participant 9’s American identity was tied to patriotism, “I was a very patriotic American
[person]. Like on the 4th of July I just, I was wearing red, and white, and blue hairbands, and
red, white and blue socks and t-shirts” (P9, p. 10), and feeling that the Embassy was a safe place,
“Like, yeah, where would I feel safe and probably, probably I would feel safe like going to the
American Embassy because that was a safe place in China” (P9, p. 11). For one participant their
nationality. For example, Participant 5 stated, “I had a sense of ‘I am an American’… you have
the sense that you have to represent your country well, at least I did” (P5, p. 5). For Participant 7
being American was not just a part of the participant’s identity, but also something the
participant connected with some negative perceptions. When asked about negative traits
attributed to Americans, Participant 7 stated, “being loud is a big one”(P7, p. 15). Finally, one
participant (Participant 8) shared that while Nationality was an identifier for the participant,
when younger the participant would have identified with the host nation’s identity, not the
participant’s passport identity, “When I was younger, I would have said that I was Ghanaian
because I grew up in Ghana in West Africa. So, I would have said that I was Ghanaian...I was
Several (N=4) participants mentioned their identity as a “missionary kid” as being a part
of their identity, “I think missionary kids are a smaller subset of being a TCK…there’s a
different aspect to your experience when you’re an MK … I think that helps tie me to a smaller
group in the very large TCK world” (P8, p. 1). Half of the participants (N=5) mentioned their
Third Culture Kid identities as important to how they understand themselves. For Participant 7
this was particularly true when in the US, “I’m noticing when I’m in the States then my TCK
identity is like the most important part of who I am. It’s not like a given, or it’s not readily
44
understood, versus when I’m overseas” (P7, p. 1). Notably, for Participant 8 TCK identity was
The aspect of my identity that most defines me . . . Kind of all of the things that make up
who I am I pick that one generally to introduce to people first . . . I’m some other things
While this was not a common identity feature shared (N=2) several participants
mentioned ethnicity as an aspect of their identities. Participant 2’s Jewish identity came with
some pressure to be an ambassador, “Jewish was much more of a minority status abroad, well
certainly in Taiwan. I got interviewed by the school newspaper like every year for like their
Chanukah/Christmas thing because I was the Chanukah representative” (P2, p. 12). For
like personally take pride in like that half of my self and that side of my family cause I
see it as slightly different, being Eastern European versus most I would say a large
More than half of the participants cited religion as a part of their identity (N=6).
Participant 10 stated, “The most important aspect of my identity to me at this time is that I
belong to God and the covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ. I’m a Christian. That takes
precedence over everything else” (P10, p. 1). Some (N=2) of those participants mentioned that
this part of their identity had changed over time. For example, Participant 4 shared that,
I think that as a child I saw faith and identity more as more kind of in a binary
identity became more rooted in the fact that I felt I was a child of God, loved by
45
God no matter what I’d done, than rooted in the fact that I was a child of God and
he loved me because I did good things that I was supposed to do. (P4, p. 16)
Participant 10 shared that this part of their identity did change over time. These changes did not
The most common response when asked about identity was to share more general
characteristics or personality traits (N=8). Most (N=6) participants cited general characteristics
that were expressed in an external way. For example, details of places they had lived, education,
profession, appearance, their interests, or things they do, “I think I spent a lot of time by myself
as a child. I read a lot” (P6, p. 16). For a few participants (N=2) there was ambivalence about
these characteristics,
I guess like other aspects like being like a cisgender female … people say, ‘you
shouldn’t apologize as much, that’s like a woman’s thing.’ …I don’t like that or
like think in that way. I wouldn’t say that like it’s a huge part of my identity so
much. (P7, p. 2)
Others (N=4) cited more internalized characteristics such as values participants had, “I
identify as a feminist. I identify as a queer ally, I identify as someone who is highly educated. I
Many made reference to personality traits (N=6) such as being, “helpful, caring, . . . nice
friendly” (P1, p. 1). Another example of this was, “I would say personality characteristics are
things that I would tend to define myself by” (P4, p. 1). Half of those participants (N=4)
identified these traits as stable, “characteristics like perfectionism, … are things that have sort of
been a part of my approach and really like self-identity like for as long as I can remember” (P2,
p. 10). By contrast one participant cited a significant change to the participant’s personality over
46
time, “I’ve taken the Myers Briggs test a few times, not recently, but umm, I think I was an INSP
Sources of Influence
When discussing their identities, all participants made reference to a range of external
and internal factors that influence how they understand their identity. Over half (N=6) shared
that religion was one factor that informed their identity. “Faith, and my church community was a
big impact and a big force for shaping my identity” (P4, p. 15). Most (N=7) mentioned
education as a force that helped shape their identities, whether this was the American curriculum
they were exposed to, later learning done, or experiences with teachers in school. For example,
Participant 3 stated, “…going to art school for High School. I think that completely altered the
trajectory of my life” (P3, p. 2). Half (N=5) of the participants specifically cited events, or
information they learned around race and racism as something that helped them form their
identities. For example, Participant 6 shared that, “Even though we learned about the civil war
and we learned about slavery and we watched the Ken Burns Civil War series at home …I didn’t
understand that it was such a big problem still for people” (P6, p. 7). Several (N=4) noted that
learning they did on their own, often by reading books was an influential factor in their
development. For Participant 8, self-driven learning was the participant’s introduction to TCK
identity: “My parents bought a book called Raising Resilient MKs [Missionary Kid]…So I read
the whole thing through and I was like this is neat, they have a word for me. There’s other
Exposure to a range of cultures was one of the most commonly mentioned (N=8) sources
of influence, whether it was cultures abroad (N=7), cultures within the US (N=5), or TCK/CCK
culture (N=1). For example, Participant 9 learned more about White culture when the participant
47
traveled to the south, “We traveled down south and … If I didn’t know any better like I would
have traveled outside the state because I can’t understand these people’s accents …I realize that
Whites can actually be a lot of different things” (P9, p. 6). Similarly, Participant 1 felt traveling
had a deep influence, “I think my exposure to traveling and things like that, exposure to the
world created a strong sense of humanity if that makes sense” (P1, p. 7).
in their lives (N=7). For Participant 4, family influenced the participant’s learning; “I think
because I’d grown up with in a pretty open household ... I’d probably been told about her
[Harriet Tubman] by my parents” (P2, p. 4). Similarly, for Participant 10, family was a main
source of learning, “My mother, I was home schooled the first two years, and my mother was the
one who taught me…my father did stuff, my mother explained things to me better than he did
Quite a few participants (N=4) noted that they were shaped in part by negative events.
For example, Participant 6 shared how negative events shaped the participant’s religious identity,
I’m not religious anymore I am an atheist which I started that when I was like 14,
13-14 maybe.... I think when I was younger and had to leave my first school, I
was very upset about it. My parents pulled us out and kept us home for a year.
And that was totally miserable. No friends and being homeschooled with my
bratty 12-year-old brother. And I was very angry, I felt like I was being punished
for something. But I also had a lot of questions about all the terrible things I had
seen and I felt very upset about the suffering of the world in general. I would
Race
48
The category of Race includes two main subdivisions. The first is how participants are
identified racially both from their own perspective, and the perspective of others. The second
aspect to this category features participant’s thoughts and opinions about race.
Racial Identity
Individuals spoke about their race from two distinct perspectives, from their own point of
White (N=9). Several (N=4) related that this identity is one that was stable for them, “I would
say probably my race is one of the most representative aspects of my identity...Mostly because
that is something that has stayed the same no matter where I’ve lived and where I’ve moved
around” (P4, p. 1). A few participants (N=3) made statements that blended their White identity
So being White did not become, it was not something I pushed out there. Obviously,
physically I couldn’t hide it … I remember thinking … you are basically a guest here and
Most participants (N=5) identified the moment of recognizing their White identity as the
moment in which they realized that they looked different from people around them. For
example, Participant 3 stated, “I mean I always knew [I was White] cause, well I lived in Africa
when I was little and like I don’t know, some people were Black and I was White” (P3, p. 3). By
contrast, Participant 4 had a different experience. This participant remembers first thinking
about being White when the participant realized others around the participant were also White.
49
The first time I remember thinking about it [being White] was getting off of the airplane
in the United States actually. I think I was around 3rd grade, and just looking, walking
through the airport looking at everyone going, “Oh my gosh, everyone looks like me.”
Half of the participants (N=5) shared that part of their White experience was one of
standing out compared to others. In the case of Participant 8 this recognition came at a young
age. “We moved to Ghana when I was four. And I can recall, yes, I can recall when I was six
thinking of ways to change my skin color” (P8, p. 7). For a few participants, (N=3) this standing
out in a crowd was something they described with both negative and neutral tones. For example,
Participant 8 stated that “being stared at, I never even thought to be like ‘oh this is weird’
because it wasn’t weird” (P8, p. 4), but also shared, “there’s always downsides to being a
minority is that you’re not the majority so you always stand out...And skin color is a rather
obvious way to be different, so everybody knows it as soon as they see you” (P8, p. 6). Only two
participants spoke about standing out as a positive thing, as in this statement by Participant 9, “ If
you are White and you speak English everybody wants to be your friend, you’re a celebrity, they
Most participants (N=7) reported that their sense of their race has changed over time.
This change often being in how they understood or express their Whiteness. Participant 10
indicated that racial identity depended on the context; “Well that depends on who I’m talking to.
I’m obviously Caucasian if you look at me.” (P10, p. 12). This participant further shared that “I
have been known to introduce myself as being African-American because I literally am” (P10, p.
12).
50
For several participants, (N=4) variability or stability in racial identity depended on their
surroundings. While Participant 4 identified with a stable White identity, subtle shifts might
Being White in Asia meant that I related to the rest of the community and the rest of the
population very differently than if I had been an Asian in Asia. And I think I had grown
very accustomed to the way that played out in my life so that when I came to the United
States being White among a majority of White...made me realize that this identity that I
guess had been based on race because I was racially different was no longer this like key
So, yes, so parts of my identity that shifted, I would say the most is around like racial
identity. As I said, like, I don’t think about the fact that I’m a TCK, or that I’m White
Finally, Participant 8 has been left with a sense of confusion about race as a result of the move to
the US.
When I first got here [US] I was like ‘ok, so obviously the fact that I’m White
means something different here than it used to mean’...I’m still not exactly sure
what being White means except that it’s definitely not Black or anything else
While most participants self-identified as White, over half also related experiences
feeling or wishing they were something other than White (N=6). For a few (N=3) they saw
themselves as just being human, or another race. For example, when asked to identify by race
51
Participant 1 replied “human race” (P1, p. 1). As mentioned before, Participant 10 self-identifies
as African-American, because this feels like the most accurate label. Finally, Participant 7
shared that, “I tend to use the term that I am an egg. I’m White on the outside and Yellow on the
inside. But I also say that it’s like tinged with some Brown in there” (P7, p. 9). Participant 7
shared that while they never lived somewhere with predominantly Black or Brown people, there
was a large African and Filipino community where they lived in France.
Several (N=4) also shared a desire at some point in their lives wishing to be a different
I have wished … that I was Black because then … I would look more like I feel where
I’m from and, you know, maybe I would look like more of an outsider here, which is
what I feel, and I would pass as African, at least just walking down the street if I was in
Africa. (P6, p. 2)
In a similar vein, Participant 9 referenced a desire not to be White specifically in some countries.
But then, later after High School I traveled on a mission ship….And we went to countries
like Libya, North Africa, and there and in the rest of the middle, Libya, Egypt, some of
those places Oman, it was not so good to be White. Like, you did not want to flaunt it.
You almost wished you weren’t White. Because, you didn’t feel as safe, for one, for two,
their cultures see everyone that’s White as American and all Americans equal
Hollywood, and Hollywood equals all the immoralities they see. (P9, p. 7)
Other’s view of participant’s race. In addition to expressing how they saw themselves,
the majority of participants (N=8) also mentioned how others perceived them racially. In all
cases (N=8) participants shared that they are identified as being White by those around them.
Most (N=6) shared that not only did others see them as White, but that this came with
52
assumptions about who they are. Participant 2 noticed these assumptions in both the academic
and romantic aspects of life when abroad, sharing that, “I did very well academically. And I
kind of remember people being a little surprised by that, like given being White” (P2, p. 11), and,
“ [Whiteness] definitely came up in terms of my romantic life…I felt like I wasn’t dateable
because I was White” (P2, p. 13). Others such as Participant 5 mentioned these assumptions
occurring in the US as well, “when people look at me here in the United States, they… think that
I grew up …here, in a White neighborhood when actually … I’m not the typical White person”
(P5, p. 12).
In a similar vein, several (N=3) shared that they found that other’s perceiving them as
White felt limiting, or like it constricted their identity. Participant 8 stated, “In the US I think the
downfall of being White is that it disguises the fact that I am different and I would like to be seen
as different” (P8, p. 6). The last common experience based on others’ experience (N=4) was that
of assumed racism. Multiple participants felt that others often assumed they were racist, or
placed racist interpretations on participant’s statements or actions that were not in fact intended.
For example, Participant 8 stated that, “I got called a racist a lot for pointing out skin color…here
in the US they’re like, ‘oh, you’re a racist, why are you talking about skin color?’” (P8, p. 6).
Participant 10 also experienced this and found it had an effect on interactions with African-
Americans.
Black people expect racism, and not without reason. ...But, when you smile, when you
catch their eye, when you greet them, when you deal with them as people, almost without
exception they are delighted and respond very warmly one-on-one. But, you’ve gotta get
It is worth noting that there was one outlier experience. Participant 10 shared that, “in
fact my Nigerian friends will often introduce me to their American Black friends as, ‘this guy is
a real African American’” (P10, p. 12). So at least in this context identity as a White person did
Reflections on Race
When discussing racial identity participants often began discussing their thoughts or
feelings about race, both White race as well as others. These thoughts broke down into several
categories. Several participants (N=3) shared thoughts of either being confused or frustrated by
the topic of race. Participant 5 shared this thought, “the thing that I think about race is that why
are other people making such a big to do about race? … I get frustrated when… that’s the first
thing they are going to present or talk about” (P5, p. 6). By contrast, for Participant 8, confusion
centered around how to understand race, and how the term racist is used; “I mean, the Black
people here are not Ghanaians, I don’t fit with them. I think that’s probably where I still am. I
know I’m White but I don’t exactly know what that means” (P8, p. 9), “if you said anything that
mentioned the words White or Black … Like if I said I like the white part of an Oreo they’d be
like, ‘oh you’re a racist’, which I was super confused by” (P8, p. 6).
Half of participants (N=5) shared that for them race was often used as a descriptor
without being linked to any judgment or limitation of identity. This is exemplified in Participant
9’s comment,
I’m not, I’m not like touchy about it [race]. I’m like, “oh hey, I’m White, you’re Black,
you’re Hispanic, you’re Chinese, you’re like whatever.” It’s like all great and God made
us all and made variety and that’s so cool to me, I love it. (P9, p. 3)
54
Some participants (N=4) shared negative thoughts or beliefs around the topic of race. For
a few (N=3) participants these thoughts focused on White individuals, for example, Participant 1
stated that, “I feel like I don’t have a very positive outlook on White people” (P1, p. 1).
Participants 7 and 9 found White identity to be limiting. Participant 7 indicated that “just calling
someone White … it’s not it’s not including all the other aspects of who they are so it’s really, I
mean, really washing away any of the diversity within the group” (P7, p. 6). One participant
shared that negative experiences abroad left the participant with negative feelings towards
African men in particular, “I know that I have racist reactions towards African people especially
men … and those things I think are the result of my childhood. Like the feeling threatened by
A number of participants (N=4) shared ambivalent thoughts on the topic of race, such as
this statement by Participant 6: “I think it [being White] means that I am really lucky in having
As was the case regarding racial identity, several participants (N=3) shared that their
thoughts on race have changed over time as opposed to being stagnant, as Participant 3
explained, “Interviewer: Are there any... key factors that shape your understanding of race?
Participant: I think it’s been a pretty gradual development over time” (P3, p. 11).
An interesting experience shared by the majority of participants was the experience of not
having any thoughts or opinions on race (N=6). For many (N=5) this was the case when they
were children or teenagers. When asked if understanding of your Whiteness changed since you
were a kid, Participant 1 responded, “I think as a kid I didn’t think about it at all, except for when
The topic of race was not a simple one for the participants. While participants almost
exclusively self-identified as White, this White identity was stable for some and dynamic and
location based for others. In addition, a few wished at different times that they were not White.
Being White came with a feeling of standing out, which was positive, negative, or neutral
depending on the participant. Participants also noted that they were racially identified as White
from other people’s perspective. This White identity involved assumptions about who they
were, assumptions of racism, and a sense that their identities were limited by virtue of being seen
as White. Finally, this category involved general reflections on race, including some negative
thoughts regarding White and Black identities, confusion or frustration with the topic of race,
ambivalent or mixed feelings, changing thoughts on race, as well as a feeling that racial terms are
Privilege
Participants shared a range of thoughts on privilege, from feeling they were not recipients
of privilege, to appreciation for the privilege they have. Many also shared downsides to
privilege, or ambivalent and neutral thoughts on the way they are privileged. Finally, for some
Participants related being privileged in a number of ways. For almost all participants
(N=9) there was a linking of their privilege to their White identity. This often came with a
general sense of feeling lucky, and realizing that they had done nothing to get this privilege, as
population that experiences a huge amount of privilege globally and is something that I didn’t
necessarily ask for, but I know that I benefit from” (P3, p. 5). This sense of privilege is
something they felt whether they were abroad (N=8) or in the US (N=5). Abroad, there was a
56
recognition that being White meant that individuals may receive more respect (N=3), better
treatment, more power to enact change, or the freedom to go places and do things that others
would not. Participant 8 recognized that, “In Ghana I can get things done that my friends could
never get done. I could go places they could never go. Convince people to do things they
One felt that the transition to the United States was made easier by their racial identity
and the privileges that come with that. Some specific aspects of privilege mentioned included
the ability to be seen as an American, the feeling that being part of the majority comes with
positives in general, including having more of a voice, being assumed to be American, and
likelihood of generally better treatment. Participant 4 noted that, “If I were to say I’m from the
United States no one would question that… but people take things that I say more trustingly I
Several participants acknowledged feeling that there was privilege in being a TCK,
specifically the opportunity to see the world, travel, and have unique experiences. Participant 4
There’s a privilege I think that comes with traveling as a TCK, and seeing a lot of
the world, and like I think that’s a privilege that people in the United States
automatically assume. They’re like, ‘that’s so cool’ and that’s something that
they’re like, ‘oh my gosh, like so jealous of you.’ So that in a sense is a privilege.
(P4, p. 20)
As participants talked about privilege it became clear that this privilege had several
sources for them. Participant 5 cited many sources of privilege, including financial security, a
good education, and the power that come from her sponsoring agency. Similarly, others
57
referenced having supportive families as a source of Privilege. A few specifically referenced the
privilege that came with being US Citizens (N=2). This scattering of the origins of privilege was
noteworthy in several statements made by participants where they struggled to identify the
foreignness, is it both, because I think some of the privileges that I experienced were to
some degree experienced by my peers at the, you know, my friends from high school, you
know, it was the …the other folks at the school with me were the largely, not entirely, but
largely ABC, American Born Chinese and had similar privileges because it was so clear
that they were also foreign, but they weren’t like Taiwanese nationals. (P2, p. 5)
Similarly, Participant 3 had a difficult time parsing privilege related to White versus
American identity: “I don’t know if it’s like race or if it’s … like Nationalism” (P3, p. 8). While
participants could often point to things that they were lucky to be able to do as described in the
following quote, “opportunity for a better life, that I could go back to America and go to college.
And have a job and I could go anywhere that I wanted” (P6, p. 8). These privileges were not
always specifically linked to one identity feature such as race, or nationality, or financial status.
The majority of participants (N=7) noted that there were downsides to being the
recipients of privilege. When it came specifically to race several negative aspects of being White
were mentioned. Several participants (N=3) shared that they felt that being White sometimes
came with a tendency to feel entitled, Participant 3 grappled repeatedly with this sense of
entitlement, “I think in terms of entitlement, like Americans tend to feel that way, and then
58
there’s an aspect of that that is also like White people tend to feel that way” (P3, p. 8). This
quote illustrates how Participant 3 also links this sense of entitlement to Americans in general, as
well as White people. A few participants (N=2) specifically brought up downsides to being
White abroad. Participant 4 specifically noted that, “yeah, I think that being White abroad made
it challenging to develop friendships even with people even with people who I had a lot of
similarities with” (P4, p. 12). Participant 10 had a different point of view, while the participant
normally felt that being White was a positive thing abroad the participant noted that things
changed when some areas of Nigeria became strictly Muslim, sharing that, “if you are White it is
instantly assumed that you are Christian and therefore that you are an enemy” (P10, p. 20).
Downsides to privilege were also noted in regards to time in the United States.
Specifically, several participants (N=4) shared that they felt misperceived in the US based on
their position of privilege. For both Participants 4 and 6 they both felt that their being White
meant that their otherness was not recognized, and they were perceived as being like other White
Americans. Where Participants 4 and 6 felt misperceived based on their racial identity, for
Participant 10 it was a misperception based in part on White race, but also linked to political
identity as a Republican. Participant 9 and the participant’s husband had a unique frustration,
which is they feel they worked hard for their financial privilege, but others ignore their role in
obtaining financial stability, “sometimes I wish my parents would just say that, like, ‘wow
you’ve worked really hard and you’ve sacrificed a lot to get to the point you’re at.’ And instead
Several participants (N=3) shared that their positions of privilege often left them feeling
isolated in some way. Both Participants 4 and 9 struggled with feeling that their privilege made
it hard to interact with others, whether it was TCK privilege making it hard for non-TCK peers to
59
connect with them, or feeling like the special treatment they got abroad either made people
jealous, or made it hard to interact with locals as equals. Participant 9 described some of these
interactions.
The other people looking at you feel a gap. And so sometimes trying to like you know,
not come down, but in their minds come down to their level, or say ‘hey, I want to like’, I
was in my mud booth with my sickle and like out in the fields coming out and I’m not
good at this, ‘can you teach me how to do this.’ And they’re like, ‘ Oh no, no, no, you
shouldn’t do this’. And so it kind of is a barrier too that you have to overcome through
time and relationship and working with that so that they see you as an equal and so that
they will invite you into their culture, into their lives. To let you experience some of their
interacting with others who have shared privilege, “it’s isolating, isolating in the sense of where I
Four participants shared negative aspects of privilege that came with their privilege while
abroad. Participant 6 felt that privilege came with expectations. “I felt always that people were
only interested in being my friend because I was White and they thought I could do something
for them” (P6, p. 3). Participants 5, and 9 both shared that being White or American abroad in
some countries meant that they were at risk, either of terrorist activity, or inappropriate behavior
or comments. While Participant 8 did not mention concerns for safety, the participant did share
that one downside to being White in other countries was that, “you always stand out...And skin
60
color is a rather obvious way to be different, so everybody knows it as soon as they see you” (P8,
p. 6).
Often when talking about privilege participants did not always clearly share that their
privilege was positive or negative. Most shared somewhat mixed or ambivalent views of being
White abroad (N=7). For several participants one of the struggles they faced with being
privileged was that it came with feeling separate from those who did not have privilege. It was a
positive thing, but, “it was an otherness, but still like, but a privileged identity nonetheless” (P2,
p. 4). This feeling of not wanting privilege also existed for participant 8 who eventually decided
that since there was no way to change the privilege the participant would try and use it to do
positive things. For Participant 6 ambivalence came in several forms. Participant 6 recognized
that whatever benefit they had it came at a cost, and while the participant got preferential
treatment they felt that this also put a target on the participant’s back. This participant also
shared that it felt, “icky and weird” (P6, p. 18) to getting things just because of privilege, and
knowing that someone else was not getting this benefit who might need it. Similarly, the
And I saw my friends, like my little girlfriends getting married by the time they were 10,
12 years old. Never going to school, never leaving the village they grew up in. So I felt
very lucky but I also felt very isolated and lonely I guess. (P6, p. 8)
Participant’s 7 and 9 both shared a feeling that while they did have privilege in some
ways they were also not recipients of privilege in others. For Participant 7 this relates to how the
Having grown up as the minority like yes I was White, but I was a minority in my context
and so like does that White Privilege play out? I would say that in some ways it does and
For Participant 9, this participant recognized that they had some things that the host
country peers did not have, but at the same time felt that there were assets they had that the
participant’s family did not. So like Participant 7, Participant 9 felt both privileged and like they
Many participants spoke of their privilege in neutral terms. Many of the types of
privilege raised were similar to those above, issues of financial (N=1) and racial privilege (N=1),
feeling that expectations were placed on them based on perceived privilege (N=1), and privilege
whose origin was unclear (N=1). A few participants (N=3) noted feeling that they were
misperceived, either as having privilege they did not feel they had, or not being seen as different
One unique experience that was often talked about with a neutral tone was the feeling of
only partially being privileged (N=6). Similar to feeling misperceived often participants felt that
they had privilege in some ways but not others. Participant 2 described it in this way.
I feel like there is a part of me, or has been a part of me that sort of like wants some
credit. You know what I mean, that’s like… but no, like I didn’t have the like White
experience you might assume I had and that wants some credit for being like I know what
it’s like to be other and I know what it’s like to be a minority. I don’t know what it’s like
to have the same you know power imbalances that come with that. Right, like the same
The category of Third Culture Kid (TCK) identity looks at three different aspects of how
participants talked about TCK life. First it looks at some TCK traits that participants described
or identified. The second aspect of this category is how participants think about TCK identity.
All of the participants interviewed were familiar with the term Third Culture Kid, and all
indicated that this was a term that fit them. A few participants described feeling like they do not
belong fully in any one place. Participant 8 described that, “I’m not fully American and I’m not
fully Ghanaian and I’m not fully anything that everybody else is, so being a TCK allows me to
be in a group of other people who are also not anything” (P8, p. 1). Participant 10 had a similar
thought regarding the host country of Nigeria. In the interview the participant said, “Nigeria is
A couple of participants (N=2) described the experience of feeling out of place despite
technically being in one’s home culture. For Participant 3 there was an expectation that the US
was a country of origin and thus the transition should be easy. However, the participant found
that it did not feel like going home because other Americans did not share the same life
experiences, “you think, ‘oh this is going to be easy’. This is where I’m from, this is like going
home, but in fact it’s not because people there have not had the same experience that you’ve
had” (P3, p. 14). Participant 8 had a similar experience, and added that the participant was made
to feel weird because in addition to not having a shared experience with American peers, they
expected the participant to interact like they did because they looked alike, “When they look at
you and you look like them they’re like ‘ok, you must be like me, you must think like me, you
must act like me’ and if you don’t they’re really surprised” (P8, p. 5). By contrast, when the
63
participant was abroad it was obvious to people that the participant was different. This looking
the same had the added drawback in that people did not try and teach them about racial identity,
“I don’t think that anybody would ever think of talking to me about that because I am White and
I look American and I sound American so why on earth would they have that talk with me?” (P8,
p. 9).
A few of the participants (N = 3) shared anecdotes of times they had to learn a new way
of interacting or behaving because their normal assumptions or behaviors no longer fit the
setting. For Participant 6, this involved having to switch learning styles when they came to the
US. The participant had previously gone to school with the British system, and had to adapt to
the American system of learning, “We did the British system which is quite a bit different from
the American system… they want you to build concepts figuratively instead of doing a year of
geometry and then a year of algebra” (P6, p. 6). Participant 8 noted that they had to learn how to
talk about race in a new way, which predominantly involved not talking about skin color. For
two participants this need to code switch created moments of social disconnect. Participant 8 got
lost one day because the participant began following the wrong person. The participant was not
used to having to recognize a specific White person in a crowd because as a White minority the
only White people around were the ones the participant was supposed to follow. Participant 3
also had to shift worldview. As a child, Participant 3 grew up communicating with Black people
in Krio.
And then when we came back to the States there was a Black American and I walked up
to her and started speaking in Krio and my parents were like “Whoooaa, no, no, no, no,
no, no”. I mean I had like my understanding of the world was like oh people this color
speak this language, but that was not the case. (P3, p. 4)
64
Most participants had a range of thoughts about TCK identity (N=9) as a construct. Half
of the participants (N=5) described positive thoughts regarding TCK identity, specifically feeling
that it provided them with a unique point of view or perspective on the world. Participant 2 felt
like the challenges that come with time abroad are good challenges that push people to grow.
Participant 4, heard from mentors that, “‘[Participant 4] you see the world differently and that’s a
good thing, and that’s like this is what you can add to the world’” (P4, p. 19). Similarly,
Participant 9 feels that they can, “see things from a little bit different and broader perspective” (P
9, p. 12). This allowed Participant 9 to better understand how they interacted in the world and
what the participant can bring to the environment. Participant 5 best summarized the general
People have asked me the question ‘Do you regret not having a childhood experience in
the US, a continuous one?’ I say no. No I don’t, absolutely not. It is and I guess in years
to come, as time has passed I have come to appreciate that I am who I am because of the
time I spent outside the United States and I wouldn’t change it for the world. (P5, p. 21)
Several participants (N=3) had mixed views of TCK identity. Each participant noted a
slightly different are of focus. For Participant 1, they avoided learning more about being a TCK
because the participant does not like labels and feels they separate people. Participant 2’s
ambivalence came related to feeling like they can access the experience of non-White people
better, and at the same time not liking the way the participant wants to be given credit or praise
for this part of their identity. By contrast, Participant 10 brought up the way in which American
peers may have had more money and toys, but the participant feels they had more fun, there were
things they did not have as a TCK, but things that peers did not have living in the US.
65
There was one theme that was repeated by multiple (N=4) participants, and this was a
feeling that TCK identity provided them a frame of reference to help understand their
experiences. Both Participants 1 and 9 found it gave them a context for understanding. For
Participant 1, “I just remember it making sense, I was like, ‘oh ok, so that kind of explains us’”
(P1, p. 12), and for Participant 9 who had been trying to come up with a vocabulary to describe
the TCK experience there was a revelation of, “oh my word, somebody has already done this and
there are lots and lots of other people out there who support all these statements that I’ve been
This frame of reference allowed all four participants to use what they learned about TCK
identity to help them understand themselves and their experiences. Participant 4 put it in the
following terms,
I realized that TCK … could be something that was a label and that did put me in
a box, but it didn’t have to be. I could have said, used it as a tool or a frame of
started realizing that I think that the idea of a TCK or Third Culture Kid would,
has become more and more helpful for helping me understand myself and
Two participants shared some negative reactions to Third Culture Kid identity. Both felt
that when they learned about TCK identity through classes and seminars there was a focus on the
difficulties that come along with being a TCK. This included the emphasis on how difficult
When the idea of TCK was rolled out to me I think, or, it seemed like the
emphasis was put so heavily on the negative aspects of being a TCK, and just how
66
you are going to go through grief, and you’re going to, a lot of people get
depressed, and you’re going to have all these problems, and you are not going to
feel like you belong, and like this whole laundry list of things that were gonna to
suck. And in my mind, like, one, I wanted to prove people wrong, and be like the
TCK experience doesn’t suck, two, like, having like not experienced those things
what kind of high-schooler would hear those things and be like, ‘Oh yeah, I want
Participant 9 also noted a feeling that the loudest voices were those of TCKs who had bad
experiences. Participant 9 shared a desire to have more positive experiences get equal
acknowledgment. Participant 4 shared a desire to give voice to the positive aspects of TCK
identity, “having all of those negative things listed also minimized the things that I really enjoyed
Experience of Repatriation
identified some positive repatriation experiences. For example, Participant 3 felt they were able
to “slip fairly seamlessly into mainstream society” (P3, p. 12). However, almost half of the
frustration with the feeling that the participant is often required to educate others on TCK
identity. Participant 8’s struggle came in part because the participant had not expected the
repatriation to be hard because they had spent time in the US prior to repatriating. Several
participants (N=3) noted that their stage of development was a relevant factor in how they
experienced repatriation. For Participant 3, it was hard to move to the States as a middle-school
67
student, but “found high school to be really easy and fun” (P3, p. 13). Similarly, Participant 5
found the transition to the US easier in part because the participant was older, because it was
expected, and because the participant knew that it might be difficult. By contrast, Participant 9
And I feel like it [repatriation] usually comes at, right at the point when you’re
transitioning to like your adult life too. Like that’s a natural time to come back,
18 to 20 somewhere in there. So not only are you transitioning from, from your,
one country to another, you know, and culture wise, but you’re also transitioning
from childhood to, or, you know, high school, to adulthood and really doing life
on your own. And so, I don’t know, sometimes I feel like a basic adulting course
A few participants cited the phenomenon of Reverse Culture Shock. Reverse Culture
Shock is the term used to describe feeling culture shock for one’s home country. Participant 7
had mixed experiences during repatriation. Participant 7 noted that during early repatriations
they did not experience Reverse Culture Shock, something to be very proud of. This however
changed upon return to the US for graduate school, the participant is currently very aware of
Reverse Culture Shock, in part because the graduate program requires extensive self-reflection.
Participant 9 shared an experience of culture shock upon returning to the US, “culture shock, a
lot of culture shock. … things like going to Walmart is just overwhelming. Like I think it took
me like a year and a half before I felt confident going to Walmart to shop for groceries” (P9, p.
19). When asked about repatriation some (N=3) participants shared that in some ways it was
easier being abroad. For Participant 5, “coming into the United States from outside it was, by
far, the hardest transition” (P5, p. 19). While Participant 3 did not make the same statement the
68
participant did share that international schools abroad were small and worked to help with the
transition, something not experienced in the US. In addition, the participant felt that moving
abroad there was an expectation that it would be difficult, so there were supports in place to aid
with the move, and a community that was interested in exchanging information and cultural
experiences.
While it was a minority experience, two participants described having strong emotional
reactions to repatriation moments. Participant 2 found herself very nervous about coming to the
US, about college, about the transition in general as she was worried she would not know how to
navigate the dynamics of the move. Participant 7 had a strong negative emotional reaction to
I was looking around and it was just a sea of White females like White, American,
females and a few other people peppered in, and I just got so upset because I hate,
I hate being one of them. And being associated with one of them. And like
phenotypically looking like that and yeah, and so I think, being understood here
that they don’t belong anywhere, feeling out of place even in their home culture, as well
as a need to change their behavior based on where they were or who they were with.
Participants had a range of thoughts regarding TCK identity including feeling that they
had a unique view of the world, the sense that TCK identity provided a useful frame of
reference, as well as negative thoughts related to TCK struggles and lack of focus on the
Repatriation resources. The TCKs interviewed shared a range of resources that they
did or did not have during their repatriation. These resources, when present, made the transition
easier, but often were not available. It is worth noting that many participants noted occasions
where supports were both a source of support as well as an area where help was lacking, either at
Family. Family was a resource that over half (N=6) the participants mentioned when
discussing what helped or hindered their transition. A few (N=3) shared that their family was a
resource that they relied on during the transition either as people to talk to, a source of
understanding the difficulty of the transition, or just people who were present through the
transition. Conversely, half of the participants (N=5) noted the lack of family support as an
aspect of their repatriation. In some cases (N=4), this was a result of family living abroad while
the participants lived in the US. For Participant 8 it was particularly difficult because they did
not set up a plan ahead of time to maintain contact, so the participant felt that they were, “in a
foreign country all by myself and I don’t know what I’m doing and nobody here even knows
what I’m talking about” (P8, p. 16). Participant 7 had the added stress of there being discord in
the family. Not only were the participant’s parents still abroad, but there was also, “tension
within the family” (P7, p. 21). Two of the participants cited their families as not being available
for support for reasons other than being away. For Participant 4 the difficulty was that the
participant’s parents had lived abroad for so long they did not have the knowledge the participant
needed to help with the transition. So while they may have been willing, they did not know how
to help with things like cell phones or health insurance. Finally, Participant 7 noted that a barrier
to getting support from parents comes in their lack of understanding of her TCK identity.
70
Sometimes when I’m really upset my mom might say something that’s really not
helpful and I’ll be like, ‘I know like you were there my entire life, but technically
you’re not a TCK and I am. And so, like even though you’re there and you can
sympathize with a lot of these feelings like you have different experiences and
you lived the first you know 30 something years of your life in America.’ So, it’s
helpful but sometimes they still can’t fully understand. (P7, p. 25)
Preparation. The degree to which individuals were prepared for the transition to the
United States varied significantly from person to person. Most (N=8) shared that they were
offered some level of learning or preparation to ease the process of repatriation. Participant 2
had a positive experience of doing an immersion program shortly before transitioning, and felt
this acted as a helpful bridge between time abroad and being in the US full-time. Participant 7
prepared by doing research and reading about TCKs, which validated the experience of the
transition.
participants (N=5) felt they got some good basic general preparation, ingrained values that ease
transitions, or things parents or schools did to specifically prepare them for next steps. For
example, Participant 10 always knew that they would return to the US one day and the schooling
received was geared to this. The participant also benefitted from attending a school that, “had
seen enough MKs, they expected us to do well” (P10, p. 11). Where Participant 8 benefitted
from some previous exposure to the US, Participant 4’s school helped them prepare for college
with enough depth that the participant knew how to find support upon moving.
A few participants benefitted from TCK geared preparation in the form of re-entry
seminars or repatriation preparation discussions at school. All participants cited these things as
71
being helpful. Things that participants shared they learned included, understandings of Reverse
Culture Shock, importance of goodbyes, and ways that TCKs often make friendships differently.
While Participant 7 found this information helpful, “but I didn’t really understand like the
gravity of what that meant or what that meant for me personally or I had always said that I hadn’t
ever experienced reverse culture shock until I was coming…until I was older” (P7, p. 4).
And one of the things that they did that was super helpful was a scavenger hunt day and
then sent us out and like dropped us in the city and we walked around and we had to get,
we had to do our list and get pictures as proof that we did everything…. We had to get
some job applications and like we had to go to a bank and ask for a deposit slip. So there
were a lot of, it was a game, but within this game they hid all of the life-skills that like
later I called upon …Out of all the sessions and all the speakers and everything all the
material and resources they gave us, like that day of practical, hands-on practicing I guess
and going through the motions of some of these things like stuck with me the longest.
(P9, p. 21)
Of those who participated, most (N=7) felt that they were lacking in repatriation
preparation in three primary areas. A few (N=3) found themselves in situations where others
were not prepared for repatriation to facilitate their transition. Two of these participants shared
that schools they went to be not prepared with knowledge of TCKs to help with the transition,
whether this was knowing what to do with a lack of school records, in the case of Participant 10,
or simply not knowing to keep an eye on Participant 3’s adjustment. A pair of participants
(N=2) recognized that their parents were not adequately prepared. Participant 8’s family did not
“set up a specific way of communicating or anything, like, oh yeah we’ll talk whenever, but then
72
we didn’t talk, and then we did meet but then we didn’t really” (P8, p. 16), leaving the
participant without as much family support as would have been helpful. Similarly, Participant 10
acknowledged that the participant’s parents had been abroad so long that the US they returned to
was foreign to them. So while they had educated him in American culture it was not the culture
The most commonly cited difficulty was the logistics of daily life. Half of the
participants shared that they did not feel prepared for the details of living in the US. For
Participants 9 and 7 this led to embarrassing moments out in the community. Participant 7’s
family could not figure out how to order a combo meal at a drive-thru because they did not know
the specific words to use here in the US as opposed to abroad, “we tried three different ways of
saying it and we didn’t get it right and we did not get the food we wanted” (P7, p. 24). For
So, things like that filling up gas in the car. I had to like make an embarrassing phone
call once cause I was using this borrowed car and was at a gas station and then like in and
out and in and out, and was trying to pry the little tank cover open and I could not get it
open and I didn’t know this car cause it wasn’t mine, and finally I had to call my friend’s
mom because it was her car and like, ‘can you just tell me how to open the gas, like, I
need to fill up with gas and I’m at the gas station.’ And it’s that age when like all the 20
something guys are out and you just feel like super embarrassed and she’s like, ‘there’s a
little lever under the drivers seat and that pops the little cap.’ ‘And I’m like, thank you’.
(P9, p. 20)
The issue of logistics left most stumped about seemingly easy tasks such as using
microwaves, dishwashers, credit cards, payphones, and driving or getting drivers licenses.
73
Participant 4 had a unique experience in that the participant did not have a permanent address so
holidays became awkward, as Participant 4 had to figure out where to be, and then learn that
family’s traditions.
While experienced specifically by only two participants, the final type of preparation that
was lacking involves support in understanding one’s identity. Participant 8 shared that no one
talked about the participant’s racial identity, so while Participant 8 has seen what people post on
social media the participant has yet to have a discussion about racial identity. Participant 10 also
had a unique experience in part because Participant 10 is older than the other participants. This
participant shared that when they returned to the US, “There were not seminars and stuff as I
now see that there are for returning MKs” (P10, p. 24).
Support. Just as some participants shared that their family was available, some
participants found supportive people to help them through their transitions (N=4). For a few
participants this support came in the form of host families who understood their TCK/ MK
identities and could help answer their questions and smooth the transition, “I was living in a
home with some other MKs kept by a family who was on furlough who were very close friends
of my parents” (P10, p. 9). One participant remembers being provided mentors when they
repatriated, but did not remember taking advantage or needing their help.
Over half of the participants (N=6) shared some experience of not having support around
them. Three participants shared the experience of not having those who used to support them
present. For Participant 1 this was linked to leaving a country they had lived in for a long time.
For Participant 4 this was related to parents not having information needed because of their
extensive time abroad. Finally, Participant 6 felt that the transition to college left the participant
Participant 6 experienced this lack of old supports, “my parents were still in Africa” (P6,
p. 14), along with a slightly different lack of support. Participant 6 also experienced barriers to
obtaining new supporters; “I was the only missionary kid in my college that I knew of” (P6, p.
14). This was a difficulty expressed by half of the participants (N=5). Along with Participant 6
both Participants 3 and 4 experienced difficulty finding other TCK/CCKS, which, for Participant
3 meant that, “there’s no one to really talk about those [culture shock] experiences in the
States...you don’t tell people, ‘this is super weird for me’, because they are going to be like,
‘what do you mean it’s weird, this is just normal’” (P3, p. 15). For Participants 5 and 10 their
difficulty getting support was linked to their age and when they were repatriating, Participant 5
shared that, “If we had had the stuff that I know about today, like the Global Nomads …
gatherings, or just books or articles, journal articles, research, essays written, everything,
YouTube videos, it would have made a world of difference” (P5, p. 19). Similarly, when
Participant 10 repatriated there were no seminars or resources for MKs to help with the
transition.
Friends and significant-others. A few (N=3) participants pointed friends and significant
others being a source of support throughout their transition. Both Participants 6 and 10 made
friends who made their moves to the US easier. For Participant 10 this came in the form of a
friend who made his entry to the social world of his High School easier. For Participant 6 it was
a relief to find a friends who understood why the participant asked odd questions or behaved
differently and would speak up for these behaviors; “probably the biggest help, was just getting
some people, some American friends who I trusted enough that understood that I didn’t know all
this stuff. I could feel safe asking stupid questions” (P6, p. 14).
75
Where having friends and significant others helped some TCKs, the lack of friendships or
significant relationships made the switch to the United States more difficult (N=3). Unlike
Participant 1, Participant 7 had to leave a significant other behind in the host country. Participant
3 remembers the transition being, “very disorienting and uncomfortable. And like lonely” (P3, p.
13). And where Participant 4 struggled to feel understood, Participant 7 found it difficult to
make friends,
I’ve found making friends difficult …I’ve noticed like a lot of people have said how they
find it difficult to make friends in the States because…their relationships and their
friendships are...it’s harder to get to that like deeper level of connection. (P7, p. 23)
Shared Experiences. One of the factors that participants reported helped their
repatriation experience was when they had some way of having a shared experience with those
around them. Approximately half the participants (N=6) shared that they had moments of shared
experience during their repatriation. For half the participants one way they benefited was
through contact with TCKs or CCKs. Most of these interactions (N=4) occurred in person, but
Participant 8 was forced to make TCK connections online; “I joined a Facebook group of other
MKs and it’s a very active, it’s got like, I don’t know 4,000 members and it, lots and lots of posts
every day” (P8, p. 17). The ability to be in contact with TCKs/CCKs helped the participants feel
understood, less alone, and like their experiences, while out of the norm compared to American
peers, were not abnormal within the community of TCKs. Participant 7 shared that it was
helpful to be “able to just like candidly speak to me because we knew that we had this like
understanding of being TCKs and like the schools that we went to were very similar” (P7, p. 25).
A few participants (N=3) noted that having some access to American culture while
abroad made the transition easier. For Participant 5 this was the experience transitioning from
76
Cairo to the US because, “Even things like television...you would have access to a lot of things
that would be kind of similar to what was going on here” (P5, p. 19). Similarly, Participant 7
had some access to pop-culture during her furlough from 3rd to 5th grade. Finally, Participant 10
shared that it was helpful to have lived at one of the biggest missions because “it was a little
Two participants brought attention to three different ways they had shared experiences
during their repatriation. Participant 10 benefited from getting involved in many activities at
school, such as the school newspaper and school play. Participant 2 shared two different ways
the transition was eased. For one going to a Christian school where the participant had religion
in common with classmates made it easier. Finally, the participant felt it was helpful to
transition to the United States in college when peers were also making a switch to a new phase of
maturity.
Unfortunately, most participants related that they did not have the benefit of shared
experiences during their repatriations (N=8). It is not surprising that, just as having access to
American pop-culture made the move to the US easier, not being aware of pop-culture made the
transition more difficult. This was an issue cited by half of those interviewed (N=5). Participant
6 noted that, “Every conversation I had with people was potentially full of references of things
that I didn’t get or talking about things I had no idea what they were” (P6, p. 7).
Pop culture was only one way in which participants struggled to adapt to the United
States. Many shared more general experiences of culture shock upon repatriation (N=6). These
experiences ranged from finding consumerism and stores like Walmart overwhelming, to not
knowing how to navigate the social dynamics of a high school cafeteria. For Participant 4, the
cultural differences were more prominent after college, “moving to North Carolina there wasn’t
77
anyone to talk to or framework through which I could understand feeling different or other
people understood me being different. I think that was one of the challenges of repatriating” (P4,
p. 25). By contrast for Participant 7, it was the college party culture that was difficult to adapt to
coming from a more regulated religious setting abroad; “coming from a Christian High School to
undergrad in New Orleans is very different, cause of all the partying and what-not” (P7, p. 22).
In fact, the culture was so disconcerting that she chose to transfer schools. Participant 6 shared a
unique experience of culture shock that links to race and racism in the US, and the disconnect
between the participant’s understanding of these topics based on time and education abroad.
Oh, so this was a weird, embarrassing thing that happened to me in 10th grade. I was
really into WWII in high school and I read a lot of books about it … so I was sitting in
class one day and I was just doodling and I was drawing swastikas and one of the other
kids saw me and then later, I went into the bathroom like at lunchtime, and a whole group
of Black kids came into the bathroom and started yelling at me asking me if I was a Nazi,
and was I racist, and did I hate Black people. And I just started, I literally couldn’t
understand what they were talking about. And then one of my friends came in and was
like ‘Guys leave her alone’. I was just sitting on the floor crying. And they were like
‘Why were you drawing swastikas? They saw you.’ And I was like ‘It was just kind of a
fun thing to draw, from WWII’. In my mind, ancient history and not something that I
ever would have thought that Black people would be upset about. Jewish people I would
have been like ‘oh, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up this upsetting thing’. Or
whatever, but I just did not get it at all. To me it was an academic thing, you know. And
I just completely failed to realize what a big problem it was and how prominent it still
was for people in this country, people in Europe too, probably. (P6, p. 12)
78
Three others described situations where they had to adjust their cultural views or
understanding so as to better transition to the United States. Participant 3, when very young, had
to learn that while Black people in Sierra Leone spoke Krio, Black people in the US did not.
Participant 6 had to change the way she learned upon entering American schools, because the
participant had previously attended schools that used the British system. Finally, Participant 8
had to adjust to the way Americans socialize. Having grown up in a more community minded
culture in Ghana Participant 8 did not understand the individualistic tendencies of American
peers.
Just as there were cultural barriers to the transition to the US several participants shared
ways in which they struggled to integrate socially upon moving to the US (N=3). In some cases
these barriers were linked to isolation. Living in a small farming community left Participant 8
isolated from other TCKs or diverse groups. Participant 7 also recognized that it is hard to find
other TCKs/CCKs in the US because, unlike abroad, they do not stand out. Finally, Participant 6
was isolated socially because students at school were used to MKs staying for only short periods
of time, and as a result they left MKs alone assuming that they would leave in short stead.
A few participants had insulated experiences that left them feeling like outsiders.
Participant shared that they expected the transition to the US to be easy, but then was faced with
the fact that those around did not share similar experiences, even if they had the same nationality.
Participant 7 felt like they did not quite belong in any category in college; “things are always
categorized as you are either American or you’re an international student. And I don’t fall in
either of those categories and I had never thought of it fully in this way before” (P7, p. 24).
Finally, the topic of logistics existed in this context as well, Participant 6 recognized that the
participant did not have basic logistical knowledge peers had; “I didn’t know how to use a
79
microwave; I didn’t know how to use a payphone. When I came back for high school I wanted
to drive but I didn’t know what the different lines on the road meant” (P6, p. 14)
Feelings of Belonging
The category of Feelings of Belonging is about where, when, and in what ways
participants felt like they belonged or didn’t. Unlike the category of identity this category is not
about how the participants understand their identity but about feeling like one is or is not linked
to a group. It is possible to feel like you belong in a group you don’t consider yourself a part of,
and you can out of place in a group you identify with. In addition, unlike identity, which is
centered in the participant’s point of view, feeling like one does not belong in a group could be
based on the participant’s point of view or how others see them. In some cases, participants feel
like they belong to groups they do not consider being part of their identity, or feeling like they do
Feelings of Connection
TCK/CCK. The connecting factor endorsed by the most participants (N=8) was that of
being a TCK or CCK. For many, this connection was about feeling like others can understand
When I got involved with groups of people that had gathered for the purpose of talking
about experiences of growing up outside the US or outside the country it was mind-
blowing…not only do I understand what you are saying but I’ve thought that too or I’ve
felt that too… yes we all lived at different places at different times, but the underlying
theme to me in the struggles and the concerns and the worries and the stressors things like
For others the connection to TCKs and other Cross Cultural Kids was comforting or
helpful (N=4). Several participants (N=3) mentioned belonging as a TCK by noting their
80
friendship with other TCKs/CCKs, “I ended up making a lot of friends who are like, like, if not
Third Culture Kids, then people whose parents had recently emigrated to America and so like
Foreigner. Most participants (N=7) reported feeling that they connected to others based
on being foreigners. For Participant 1 being a foreigner made them the same as other students at
the international school. Participant 9 put it this way, “We were foreigners I guess in a foreign
land, and that brought us together” (P9, p. 2). For Participant 8 this comfort as a foreigner
differentiates them from other Americans, “it’s not uncomfortable for me at all as opposed to
other American who are like ‘everybody’s staring at me’. Well, of course they are staring at you,
Nationality. Half of the participants endorsed feeling a sense of belonging based on their
nationality (N=5). For several this was something they noted when talking about how they
Participant 9, American nationality was a way to connect to other Americans regardless of race
or ethnicity, “Like race, and being White is not as big a deal maybe as nationality. Like, we can
have something in common even if you’re Chinese born American or you’re African, Black
American. Like it’s fine, we’re both from America” (P9, p. 11). By contrast, for Participant 8 a
feeling of belonging based on nationality was related to the connection to the host nation Ghana,
“I felt very patriotic about Ghana...the language, the food, the way we lived, the games we
played, every aspect of life I can think of was influenced by being in Ghana” (P8, p. 2).
Shared location. Just as location was important for Participant 8 regarding a feeling of
Ghanaian patriotism, location was a connection point for half of the participants (N=5). Both
Participants 2 and 7 sided with their host nations when discussing the Mexican-American war
81
and Japanese internment camps, despite being American themselves. In both cases classmates
did not contradict their identification with the host nation. Participants 2, 8, and 9 all shared
having strong feelings of being connected to a host nation and/or it’s people, “But yeah, I’m
really proud to be from Hong Kong” (P9, p. 2). Participant 3 shared a strong affinity for
Baltimore, the city they lived in during early repatriations, and Participant 7 shared that the
participant identifies with Asians, even though the participant is not Asian.
Shared experience. Having a shared location with others was a connection point,
similarly several participants (N=3) bonded with others over shared experiences or interests.
Participant 10 reported that getting involved in school activities and events like the yearbook and
school plays eased the process of repatriation. Participants 2 and 4 both expressed making
connections based on shared interests, “usual I connect with people who shared my interests
(N=3) related that they connected through a shared language. Participant 8 endorsed patriotic
feelings towards Ghana, and part of what helped the participant feel connected to Ghanaian
culture was the use of the local language, “I spoke the language, I grew up speaking the
language” (P8, p. 2). Participant 9 not only noted that common language connected the
participant to other TCKs, “we were both in not our mother tongue language culture” (P9, p. 2).
Finally, Participant 7 made an interesting point about how language may have linked to how
And so I was basically informed that our class was divided into these different
groups of friends. …And I think a lot of it had to do with language and also how
language includes humor because I think a lot of friendship groups are based off
82
of like personalities and how you get along with people and I think a big part of
that is having like a similar sense of humor. And the humor in Japanese is very
different from the humor you would have in English. It’s a lot more word play
and so you really can’t translate that. And, so I think that played a big part into
Passing. Several participants shared the experience of feeling they belong in part
because they were able to visually pass for being part of the in-group. Participant 5 noted that in
Cairo they looked less out of place than in Nepal where visually they were more different.
Where Participant 5 shared an experience of passing abroad, Participant 9 shared that, “I live in
America and I blend in, because, you know, I’m White, I look American” (P9, p. 12).
Participant 2 had this experience of passing both abroad, “when I was living in Mexico …in
terms of like how I presented, because I spoke fluent Spanish, and had been there for so long, I
could pass…I was taken for Mexican” (P2, p. 3), and in the US, “I remember coming back to the
States to visit and like the sort-of, oh I can relax, like I’m not being stared at everywhere I go”
(P2, p. 4).
Human. While all of the above groupings involve being similar based on a specific
characteristic several (N=3) participants shared a feeling that they connect to others based on
their shared identity as humans, as Participant 5 shared in this way, “I just want to talk to
someone or interact with someone because they are a human being” (P5, p. 10). It is clear from
the interviews that the participants were able to connect with other people in a range of ways that
allowed them to overcome a range of differences. For all of the ways that they were able to feel
they belonged, there were many situations where they were led to feel separated from others.
Presentation. Almost all participants (N=9) shared that they felt othered based on how
they present outwardly. For many (N=7) this feeling of not belonging was based on their own
perspective. Most mentioned their skin color as one of the ways they felt different. For a
couple, (N=2) this not belonging due to skin color was neutral. For Participant 2 being racially
different as a White person made the participant keenly aware of racial identity. For Participant
5 it was something the participant could not avoid abroad and made the role as a visitor clear.
By contrast, for others it was a negative experience. Half of the participants shared that they did
not like being othered based on their visual presentation (N=5). This sentiment was particularly
strong from Participant 7 who shared that being White so, “I didn’t like the fact that when people
saw me what they saw was a blond-haired, blue-eyed, Caucasian human, because I had negative
connotations with those aspects of a person” (P7, p. 6). In Participant 6’s case, they felt that
being Black would have helped the participant fit in abroad as well as help others see the
While for some skin color was the thing that they felt made them not belong, others noted
language as an othering factor (N=2), “English is my native tongue and going outside the United
States into areas where English is not readily spoken um, very different” (P5, p. 7). In one case
wealth was a differing feature. Participant 6 felt different from playmates as they were
Not only did most participants feel othered from their perspective, but almost all felt like
they were made to feel they did not belong based on the actions or perceived reactions of others
(N=9). Some of these moments were described as negative occurrences (N=5). In some cases,
(N=3) individuals felt their race led them to be treated or perceived negatively. Participants 1
and 8 shared experiences like this in the US. Participant 1 felt African Americans in the US
84
avoid interacting, and Participant 8 felt that being White, “blocked me from being accepted as an
insider, in some cases where I wanted to say, ‘yeah I’m on your side against these White
people’” (P8, p. 13). Two participants described experiencing significant discomfort or fear.
Participant 6 shared experiences of being picked on and sexually harassed as a result of being
visibly different, and Participant 9 shared insecurity regarding the tenuousness of their continued
welcome in China after 9/11 due to the family’s status as Americans. Two participants endorsed
feeling that when abroad they were expected to provide something to people they interacted with
because being White it was assumed that they were wealthy. Participant 8 also shared the
feeling that as a TCK the participant was misunderstood and isolated upon repatriation. Finally,
Participant 7 reported wanting to blend in which led to the wish to not be White.
Over half the participants (N=6) shared experiences of not belonging that were described
in neither positive nor negative terms, or in mixed terms. In most cases participants described
standing out visually and being faced with the curiosity of those in their host countries. For
Participant 1 this included reactions in the community such as, “Korea they used to take me aside
and take pictures of me and touch my hair and pet me” (P1, p. 3) and reactions in Cameroonian
public school, “I was the only White person in the school, so I would be brought as show and tell
from classroom to classroom to let them see what a White person looked like” (P1, p. 3). There
was often a sense of this being normal, as Participant 4 shares, “that was just a very normal part
of life. It wasn’t anything that I second-guessed” (P4, p. 4). In one case this was described as
happening in the US where Participant 5 felt that people saw the participant as a foreigner,
“people were looking at me like I was some sort of foreigner, and like my nationality made no
difference… ‘You’re not an American, you don’t even sound like an American, you don’t act
A few participants (N =3) described events that could be seen as negative, but did so with
a tone of acceptance. Participant 1 described being dunked while playing at a local pool by an
African American kid who made comments about the participant’s skin color when living in DC,
but did not describe finding this upsetting or scared despite the overt aggression. Similarly,
Participant 1 shared a situation in Cameroon where a woman became verbally aggressive, but
instead of blaming the woman the participant had the following reaction, “at that time I was still
kind of religious in my head, so I felt like, oh my god it’s God telling me that I shouldn’t be in a
bar...But I never remember feeling angry at her” (P1, p. 9). Participant 3 did not describe verbal
aggression abroad, but did describe feeling sexualized and pointed at if wearing clothes that were
not conservative. Finally, Participant 4 felt that when the participant moved to a predominantly
African American area that the visual difference was difficult for students to overcome, and that
“at first because I was so used to being different that I didn’t think it was a big deal. And then I
realized that this visual difference was big for them in the culture of their community” (P4, p.
11). Just as Participant 4 realized that the participant was being perceived differently from how
Participant 4’s felt, Participants 1 and 7 felt misperceived, Participant 1 abroad and Participant 7
in the US. The way participants felt about their appearance, or the way they were perceived by
others, led to situations where they felt different from the people around them. Some of these
moments were described as negative, whereas others were related with a relatively neutral tone.
Regardless, whether abroad or in the US participants did not always feel that they belonged.
While the majority of experiences described were negative or neutral, two participants
shared positive aspects of being perceived as different. Participant 1 felt in Korea being White
was, “kind of nice because I guess you got a lot of positive attention from people. People wanted
to talk to you, they were curious about you. They are very helpful” (P1, p. 4). Similarly,
86
Participant 3 found that standing out abroad sometimes brought support from others, “there were
certain bars that you went to, and I everyone would be like, ‘hey, how are you liking China’ and
you could talk about your experience it was easy and nice” (P3, p. 14).
Identity features. While skin color or general presentation was one part of participant’s
identities that led them to feel like they did not belong, a few participants (N=5) experienced this
based on other aspects of their identity such as their nationality or religion. For several (N=3)
this sense of not belonging was internal. Participants 2 and 5 felt isolated because they were
religious minorities. Participant 8 shared a somewhat unique experience of feeling that the
participant was not American despite the participant’s documents, because Participant 8 was not
like the participant’s parents, and they were American. For two participants this feeling of not
belonging came from the reaction of others. Participant 6 felt separated from others as the
participant began modifying thoughts on religious views, and this was compounded by their
perceptions of the participant’s actions, “like people projected onto me that I was rebelling and I
wasn’t trying to rebel. I just didn’t want to do, go to church and pray and all those things
anymore” (P6, p. 16). For Participant 9, this feeling of not belonging came in part because being
Christian and American on top of White, in some places meant that others then concluded that
you must be from Hollywood and a prostitute, which led the participant to try and hide their
religious identity in those places. In the previous section feeling different was related to an
aspect of the participant’s outward presentation. In this section they were led to feel different
Shared experience. When participants shared ways in which they felt like they belonged
or connected to others one of the ways this happened was through the sharing of experiences
(N=6). It is not surprising then, that this is also a factor that came up when individuals discussed
87
feeling like they did not belong in certain situations or communities. In quite a few cases this
sense of feeling different was internal or based on the participant’s own feelings or perception
(N=5). All of these five participants shared feeling like they were different while in the US or
around Americans based on the assumption or knowledge that these Americans did not share
their international experiences. For Participant 8, this led to a desire to be Black so that her
otherness would be visible, “my Whiteness was just there as a problem. Like it made me look, I
looked like everyone else and I sounded kind of like everyone else” (P6, p. 9). While Participant
6 wanted to feel visibly different, Participant 1 found began self-censoring thoughts because the
participant knew that American peers did not share the same experience of seeing poverty which
led to a specific value system, “when I would have a friend and then go shopping all the time, I
would go, like in my head I was trying not to be mad at them” (P1, p. 11). There was one
notable outlier who mentioned this same feeling but experiencing it while living abroad.
Participant 7 shared how while abroad the participant was not privy to the racial struggles
Cause I know like every country has their own like racial issues. But being a foreigner in
that country you’re kind of able to skirt around them or not really have to grapple with
them so much. Like you might be aware about it but versus when I’m in the States. (P7,
p. 15)
experiences was mirrored by other’s reactions to participants. Not only did participants feel
different, but others caused them to become more aware of their differences (N=3). It is worth
noting that all of the experiences coded this way were situations that happened in the United
States. In some cases (N=3) the reactions described were relatively benign, such as weird looks,
88
or moments of surprise or confusion, “like the cashier always looks at her like “What is wrong
with you” (P3, p. 15) or, “And even in the United States if I say that I lived in Taiwan and people
go, ‘wait, what were you doing in Taiwan?’” (P4, p. 8). Participant 6 also had the experience of
feeling left out after moving schools as a result of not having shared the teachers or activities
from past years. In addition, the participant noted that in college they did not know what to do
with the participant and dubbed the participant an International Student. While the above stories
shared often involved some level of discomfort, Participant 6 shared a particularly distressing
event that occurred when on furlough in the 10th grade. This is an example of how being taught
about history outside of the US without an in-depth understanding of racial issues in the US led
disconnection were related to aspects of participant’s identities, these moments were connected
Ambiguous. Feeling like one does not belong was a common theme among participants.
While they were able in some cases to identify the specific ways in which they felt othered, this
was not always possible. Sometimes the cause was unknown, or the participant struggled parse
out one trait that was the cause of this feeling, as it could have been linked to a multitude of traits
(N=8). For a number of participants (N=6) this feeling disconnected was described as an internal
experience. Three participants shared unique ambiguous feelings of not belonging. For
Israel, despite sharing the experience and religion of the others on the trip. One participant
identified feeling isolation as an expatriate, but did not identify whether this was specific to a
upon returning abroad as an adult at a time when trying to figure out where the participant fit. In
89
this case Participant 6 did not identify whether this sense of not belonging was related to any
specific identity feature. While the above participants had unique experiences, participants 7, 8,
and 9 all related stories where their feeling of not belonging was linked to multiple factors,
whether it was race and nationality, race, language, nationality, or nationality and a lack of
shared experiences. In all three cases words like, “I don’t know exactly” (P8, p. 9), “it was
maybe” (P9, p. 10), and “why am I doing this so much” (P7, p. 3) indicate some level of
Participants also discussed feeling generally different from others. These codes came
without a specific sense of why, whether it be a sense of privilege without identified cause of
privilege, “So I felt privileged but I felt very excluded from being able to be a part of regular life.
(P6, p. 4), or being different without knowing if it was the participant’s race, nationality, or
religion, “so I think they kind of treated us like, you know, ‘you’re just so different, we don’t
really, so, know how to approach you.’” (P5, p. 8). This last set of circumstances were
connected to situations where the disconnect was in some way ambiguous, either because the
participants were unsure in some way or another, or because it was difficult to parse out the
cause of the disconnect. What came before related to how participants felt they did or did not
belong. What comes next is a review of how they reacted to a range of experiences.
This category is made up of participants’ different reactions to the world and events
around them. Responses fell in three major categories, emotional reactions, thought-based
Emotion-Based Reactions
events of their life, their experiences/thoughts on race, identity, privilege, and belonging. These
90
emotions ranged from acceptance and pride, to shame/guilt, anger/annoyance, fear, and general
emotional struggle.
Acceptance. A sense of acceptance was the most common emotional experience. It was
the one emotion that every participant reported during their interview. In this context,
acceptance was not the term participants used, but the term used by the examiner when
participants described moments when they did not question something, be it an event, their
identity, or the actions of others. A few participants (N=3) used language that implied
acceptance even when talking about upsetting events. For example, Participant 1 shared that,
“there’s a lot of things that happened in Cameroon which…and (laughs) throughout the world,
that happened, where I should have felt unsafe, but I always felt ok” (P1, p. 9). Acceptance was
also a common reaction for Participant 3 who shared that bullying just happens, and that being
sexualized based on clothing choices was an experience to learn from. While at the time of the
interview this participant was infuriated by a teacher’s performance of the Rebel Yell (a battle
cry made by the Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War), at the time they and their
peers thought, “‘oh there’s that kooky teacher doing that thing again, ha ha’” (P3, p. 9).
For many, acceptance was part of how they reacted to their racial identity as White
people (N=8). Most at some point endorsed that being White was just what it was for them, a
fact, neither good nor bad. Participant 10 put it well, when asked if they remembered when they
became conscious of being White the participant replied, “No, it was just always a fact of life”
(P10, p. 13). For Participant 2, an aspect of acceptance of racial identity is that there is no
conflict for the participant between how others perceive the participant’s race and how the
participant perceives it. This was not the case for Participants 4 and 8 who both struggled with
being perceived as racist or unable to understand Black perspectives despite feeling that their
91
time abroad gave them a unique point of view. However, both shared an acceptance of this
perception, and in the case of Participant 4, she “absorbed” (P4, p. 15) these reactions and,
“realized that like inherently I probably did have some racial preferences” (P4, p. 15).
As was discussed in the category of Race standing out was a part of most of the
participant’s racial life experiences living abroad as minorities. Acceptance was seen in the way
half of the participants discussed their understanding of what it was like to stand out (N=5).
Participant 4 summarized it well when she shared that, “I was visually different and I guess I got
very used to being visually different… it was something I was born into and grew up with it was
normal” (P4, p. 4). Participant 5 reported initial challenges related to adapting to a new
environment, but later “got used to being in the minority” (P5, p. 5).
were discussed. Statements about privilege were often cross-coded with emotional content,
including acceptance (N=4). Participant 10 shared that when others tried to place guilt on White
Privilege the participant’s reaction was, “I don’t feel the least bit guilty because I’m White”
(P10, p. 14). Participant 8 developed a comfort with privilege abroad, as well as well as the
But privilege I was used to living with by the time I left…It wasn’t confusing so much as
it was like great this is normal life…And then I came back to the US and those privileges
didn’t really exist in the same way anymore. It was like, oh, so now I am a normal
and 10 did not appear to struggle with the idea that there were ways they were less privileged
92
than others, “I felt like underprivileged, maybe in that, like I realized that it was ok, and that it
was a sacrifice and I was ok with it…And I felt like they were really lucky” (P9, p. 16).
Not only were privilege and race identity aspects that participants managed with
acceptance, but also other identity features. For example, Participant 3 said the following
regarding American identity, “And so it was sort of like our being there was sponsored by our
Americanness. So I mean like, even if you wished that you could not be American, you kind of
undeniably were, so” (P3, p. 6). Similarly, Participant 4 who had initially struggled with feeling
TCK was a limiting label came to the realization that, “I could have said, used it as a tool or a
frame of reference through which to understand my own unique experience” (P4, p. 17).
One of the events that several participants discussed with acceptance included their
experience of moving (N=7). For Participant 5 accepting that time abroad came bundled with an
appreciation that it formed who the participant is and is something the participant would not
want to change. Participant 3 noted that when it came to moving, “It was more about the
adjusting, all you can really do is have time” (P3, p. 14). Finally, while Participant 8 struggled to
move to an area with no TCKs upon repatriating the participant believed that, “it was necessarily
a bad decision because I’ve made friends here, I’m glad to be here, but I wasn’t expecting that
aspect of it” (P8, p. 16). Others also discussed repatriation specifically (N=5). Participants 2, 6,
and 10 spoke with a sense of neutrality about going along with things that were out of their
control. For example, Participant 2 attended International Orientation because, “I was invited so
I was like Ok” (P2, p. 15). Similarly, while Participant 10 did not want to move from Louisville
to Minnesota the participant, “got to Minnesota and had an absolutely wonderful senior year”
(P10, p. 10).
93
Shame and guilt. While all participants shared acceptance as one way the reacted to
their world, it was by no means the only emotional reaction they had. Most participants (N=8)
endorsed feeling shame or guilt. These feelings seemed to link predominantly to their racial
identity, thoughts on White culture, or to their feelings about being privileged. Several
participants shared feelings of guilt or shame about White culture (N=4). Participants 1 and 3
struggled with shame about White history after they learned about slavery and mistreatment of
Native Americans. Participants 2 and 6 both felt negatively about acknowledging that their
White experience is not the same as White Americans who grew up in the US, “it seems
inappropriate to talk about it, being discriminated against when you are a White Person” (P6, p.
19).
Many individuals shared feelings of guilt regarding privilege (N=4). For Participant 3 it
came in the form of an acknowledgment that this participant should have felt “otherized” (P4, p.
7) while abroad, but because of the predominance of Eurocentric culture the participant was
spared this feeling. Participants 8 and 9 also acknowledged the injustice of having privilege.
Participant 9 struggled to understand why the participant was privileged simply for having been
born to the participant’s parents. Finally, Participant 5 shared how the reaction to the privileges
the participant had even compared to other expat kids based on the family’s embassy perks.
And at the post where we lived we had access to commissary privileges and that was a
huge dividing line between the ones that had commissary privileges and the ones that did
not. I felt, I very guilty, I would actually kind of hide some of my lunch at school because
I didn’t want any of the kids to see I had, well, you know, something in my lunchbox that
occurring in the narratives of over half the participants (N=6). In most cases the expression of
anger centered around race or racism. Participants 3 and 5 shared anger about racist acts they
Mali due to skin color. Participant 7 shared feeling angry at being White as a child, “I was very
upset about the fact that I was White” (P7, p. 5). In a similar vein this participant also shared
frustration with the use of the term people of color because they felt like it was limited to Black
and Brown individuals leaving out Asians, with whom the participant felt more connected.
While not specifically about their race, Participants 3 and 8 also shared anger at their privilege,
Participant 3 being disgusted by how blatant White Privilege is, and Participant 8 angered at the
injustice of privilege when living abroad. One participant shared frustration centering around
TCK identity. Participant 8 was frustrated with the participant’s parents who did not learn about
or understand TCK identity. By contrast, Participant 9 shared frustration with those who take
good things they have for granted, “I just want to shake some kids and be like, ‘quit the drama,
you’re just so blessed to have people around you who are good friends for you and who you can
hang out with and do fun things’” (P9, p. 13), and when the participant hears of, “White people
going off the deep-end and doing something crazy to like groups that they don’t like” (P9, p. 11).
Loneliness. Feeling lonely was something that half of the participants reported (N=5).
For most they described feeling lonely while abroad. Participant 10 shared that playmates were
no longer there to play with when they were 5 because, “because they had to go to work! They
were helping support their families” (P10, p. 28). For Participant 8 and 9 living in rural areas left
them isolated and lonely, “So I never had any friends like that two years, last two years of high
school” (P9, p. 12). Unlike the previous statements, Participant 1 shared loneliness
95
predominantly focusing on time in the US, sharing that, “it was lonely and I was too scared to
Fear. While not the most common emotion expressed fear was an emotion that came up
occasionally in interviews. A few participants shared that they were scared at different points of
time in reaction to events in their world (N=3). Participant 1 not only felt fear when being
propositioned and harassed by a taxi driver on the way to school, as well as when she was
preparing to move back to the United States. By contrast, it was not moving to the US that
scared Participant 5, but moving abroad, “It was so scary but it was different and nothing, very
little that I could draw from or here, it was like everything was opposite of what here was
including the side of the road they drove on” (P5, p. 8). Fear was a common experience for
Participant 6 who not only was scared as a kid, “when I was a kid I just knew that I was a
minority and that it wasn’t always safe” (P6, p. 4), but also later as an adult when the participant
Pride. While this was a minority response, pride was something that two participants
felt. Participant 7 held pride in the ability early on to repatriate without experiencing culture
shock or the difficulties many TCKs have when returning to the US. By contrast, Participant 9
Thought-Based Reactions
participants also approached things with reactions based in thought processes. Types of thought
responses included attempts to integrate information so as to understand the larger context, the
use of hindsight thinking to review past events from a new lens, and a sense of curiosity.
96
Understanding context. All participants at one point or another gave responses that
Racial and ethnic context. Many participants approached the issue of understanding
their race or ethnicity by thinking through and synthesizing information (N=6). Participant 2 did
this extensively as the participant explored both Whiteness and Jewish identity, for example
noting that while the participant identifies as White that, “there are some Jews who wouldn’t
necessarily consider themselves White” (P2, p. 1). This participant also worked to integrate
information from a workshop attended into understanding of how White identity and personality
may intersect, “the White thing of projecting that and being like…people should be organized, or
For several participants there was an integration of historical information into their
understanding of their racial identity (N=3). Participant 3’s thoughts on White identity were
linked to the understanding of history and particularly the history of colonialism, imperialism,
and slavery, “this history of White culture, European culture, Eurocentric culture dominating so
many other cultures and like the outfall of imperialism and colonialism …it’s like so
pronounced” (P3, p. 6). Participant 10 also focused in on the history of colonialism when
discussing the participant’s experience as a White person in Africa. History allowed Participant
10 to understand why the participant was not a target in South Sudan, as well as consider why a
friend’s experience elsewhere was different, “this is an area that the Belgians had colonized and
actually the, the troubles they are having now are directly [laughs] a lot of them are directly
traceable back to the Belgian mismanagement and abuse” (P10, p. 23). By contrast, Participant 6
shared that while learning about race and racism in school that this education did not include
institutional acts of racism such as, “the systematic involvement of the government for instance,
97
with like, where they decided to put freeways in cities and wiping out only Black people’s
Just as several participants used historical context to understand the issue of race, a few
shared thoughts about how race is different from one country to another (N=3). Participant 4 and
9 noted that when thinking about race in America they often think predominantly in Black vs.
White because, “the Black-White system in the United States has become so charged” (P4, p.
11), “like I see America as kind of dual colored” (P9, p. 8). By contrast, Participant 6 shared
thoughts on how race is different in Europe, “in Sweden there’s less diversity… Being American
is different from being European in a lot of ways” (P6, p. 18). While not identified purely by
race Participant 9 noted that other’s reaction to Americans was different from country to country,
“So yeah, I’ve seen both, like China is like extreme love for like Americans…other countries just
have this disgust for those Americans. So that was like really eye-opening … to experience
Privilege. Another aspect of participant’s lives that half of them (N=5) reacted to by
trying to understand better were their experiences of privilege. There were two main ways in
which participants thought through privilege. In two cases participants talked through intricacies
of privilege. Participant 2 noted how historically different groups had to earn privilege, “Italians
and Jews and other folks weren’t necessarily considered White some time ago, but I feel like
now are and right have all of the privileges of Whiteness” (P2, p. 1). Similarly, the participant
talked through having learned how much more is racially tinged than the participant ever
thought, “some of my tendencies like perfectionism … were all of a sudden like racialized to me
… maybe there’s a racial component to this that I never realized before” (P2, p. 9). Where
Participant 1’s thoughts were regarding the history of privilege Participant 8 examined her
98
assumptions about aspects of privilege she assumed that all Americans have, “I do have privilege
[in the US] but I think it’s really hard to notice because there’re so many people who have the
same privileges… there are minorities here also who don’t have all the things that normal people
Where participants 2 and 8 thought through more complex privilege components, a few
shared mixed thoughts on privilege. Participant 9 shared that while the participant recognizes
that the participant has many privileges compared to some, the participant is less privileged than
others. Participant 7 also noted some nuance in the sense of privilege when talking through how
there is a tendency to talk about White Privilege as a negative thing despite, “technically having
a lot of the privileges would be the positive” (P7, p. 13). Participant 7 was not the only
individual to struggle with the semantics and nuances of privilege, Participant 6 shared that they
struggled with the one sided nature of privilege having experienced discrimination despite the
It’s kind of like saying, the arguments that people make about racism or sexism. Women
can be sexist against men too, and then the counter argument is ‘you can’t be sexist if you
don’t have the power of the institution behind you’. So, you can be, and I mean I guess,
it’s a different dynamic, even what was going on in Africa, because I did have a certain
amount of power, even in that context, but not the same as it is with White people and
Host nations. Not only did participants use a wider context to understand race and
privilege in general, but several also did so to understand sentiments in their host nations (N=4).
Participant 10 was sure to understand the historical experience of White people in Nigeria,
noting that, “most of the White people that anybody ever saw, especially in the olden days, they
99
were missionaries, and so they were honest, and most of them were nice” (P10, p. 17).
Participant 6 had a different experience; “there’s also a lot of resentment from the colonial times
Participant 4 did not mention the relationship with White people in Taiwan, but focused
on how the tensions in Taiwan fell more along political lines than ethnic or racial lines due to the
history with China. Not only were tensions expressed differently in some countries, in
Participant 9’s experience skin color was also different in Asia, “in Asia everybody wants to be
White…Like in Asia you go to the beach and everyone is huddling under the trees in the shade
because they don’t want to get their skin any darker” (P9, p. 4).
Others’ actions. The previous examples of understanding the larger context focused on
the big picture views of large issues like race or host nation sentiments. A few participants also
worked to understand smaller moments such as the actions of others (N=3). For example, when
Participant 1 was verbally assaulted by a woman at a bar the participant shared that, “I
understand more that some people have been hurt a lot and had no where else to put the hurt, so
at the time it was put on me” (P1, p. 9). Similarly, Participant 6 recognized that while the
experience in Peace Corps was negative that it may have varied from country to country.
Finally, Participant 7 cited globalization and the participant’s hair darkening as reasons why
people reacted to differently when the family was in Japan for the second time.
So moving back to Japan it wasn’t anything I, I never experienced that [people wanting to
take pictures with her because of her skin/hair color] when I was older being in Japan,
maybe because I was less blond. But I would suspect it was more so because the world
had become a lot more globalized at that point. So really wasn’t as much of an anomaly
100
and also now that I’m thinking about it Japanese people die their hair blond all the time,
Personal identity. The tendency to think about and try to understand privilege, race, and
the actions of others based on a wider context was also a skill participants applied to their
understanding of themselves and their identity (N=7). Several (N=3) participants worked to
understand things regarding their values. For Participant 10 this thought process related to how
the participant originally understood Christianity. For Participant 9 it was applied to how this
participant’s experiences taught the lesson of truly valuing friendships and not taking them for
granted. Finally, Participant 3 shared that time abroad taught the participant that this participant
needed to respect the host countries and their traditions. Where some used thoughts to
understand their values others used them to express ways in which they see themselves.
Participants 7, and 8 discussed their racial identities. For Participant 7 it was an understanding of
how the participant tends to use coloring descriptors as opposed to the racially oriented term
White, “So I don’t think it was ever like the label of being White … that comes with all those
connotations versus simply saying like I have super pale skin and you might have darker skin”
(P7, p. 8). This participant also shared an understanding that he/she cannot identify as Asian,
and as a result, chose to share that the participant identifies with Asian culture and Asians. The
issue of what language to use is one that Participant 8 shared, this participant too struggled to
find language to describe racial identity given the connection to Ghana and its culture combined
In America being a Black person would make me an African American which I’m not
even remotely part of that culture...And I can’t exactly say African because my passport
is American and because I have white skin so, I don’t know. (P8, p. 3)
101
Where the above participants examined issues of race and nationality Participants 9 and
10 shared their views of their life narratives. Participant 9 stated that, “I’ve lived four different
lives now” (P9, p. 2). By contrast, Participant 10 shared family background as part of the
participant’s identity, describing the way parents and the events of their lives when asked what
the participant wanted others to know about him. A number of participants also specifically
worked to think through the context involved in their TCK identities (N=4). Participant 4 shared
the participant’s understanding of the complex topic of the expat bubble, recognizing that
different TCK families are more or less connected to the host nation. This included a review of
this participant’s family’s degree of integration into their host nation’s culture, “So my expat
bubble kind of fell in between those two. My family lived in a Taiwanese community, we
always had Taiwanese neighbors” (P4, p. 7). Participant 7 also shared about how living
internationally is different from living abroad, “when I’m in the States I’m not in an international
context and I’m not in that TCK world of like I’m in Japan but I’m not really in Japan” (P7, p.
15). While being in Japan was not like being in the US, this participant also noted how it was
not the same as being Japanese in Japan. For Participant 8 time abroad touched every part of the
church is supposed to work, how worship is supposed to work, how relationships are supposed to
work” (P8, p. 14). Two participants noted the way transience in the TCK experience could have
an effect. Participant 7 shared how this participant feels that transience, “also hinders a TCK
from creating roots” (P7, p. 5), and Participant 9 shared how the goodbyes meant the participant
experienced difficult things non-TCKs likely did not experience at young ages.
themselves and others. Participants 2 and 10 noted that they were different from family
102
members. For Participant 10 this related to the way the participant experienced family
interactions. The way the participant’s parents were different from the participant’s sister who
was more aware of their father’s PTSD. By comparison Participant 2 noted how the participant’s
experience of holidays was different from that of the participant’s mother’s. Others compared
themselves to others outside of their family. Participant 5 noticed the ways and reasons they
were different from the Nepalese where Participants 9 and 7 shared ways in which they were
different from other Americans. Both Participants 9 and 7 noticed that there were aspects of
their TCK experiences that were different from the lives of their American peers. For Participant
7 one effect of living abroad was that the participant internalized some a range of Eastern values.
I am currently living in a society that is the complete opposite of that and has very
different values I’ve really had to like dig deep into why it is that things that maybe my
professors are telling me to do are difficult for me. Like, being a self-advocate, speaking
up for yourself, and I often times want to say it’s a personality thing but I really had to
start saying, ‘no this is just a cultural difference, it’s not necessarily a personality thing.
factors were involved in the way they experienced the world. For Participant 7 this included
recognizing that the initial repatriation to the US was experienced differently likely as a result of
other difficult events in the participant’s life that were happening at the same time including the
loss of a significant other, tension with family, and unhappiness about the family moving away
from Japan. While for Participant 7 this process was about the participant’s self, Participant 10
noted how while they had positive experiences as a missionary kid there were others who
103
experienced abuse in missions and boarding schools, and that these sorts of experiences could
view as they look back at past events during the interview. For several (N=4) this new point of
view came regarding the topic of race. While Participant 10 was unable to know identify ways
the participant’s sense of racial identity had changed it was assumed that it had. By contrast,
Participant 2 shared that she now sees how racial bias tinged how she interpreted everything.
Similarly, when looking back at the behavior of a teacher Participant 3 now sees it as,
“infuriating and so disrespectful” (P3, p. 9). Both Participants 2 and 4 shared a lack of certainty
regarding the impact of race. For Participant 4 this centered around how the participant does not
remember feeling race was an issue as a kid, but a lack of certainty given that the participant had
no African-American friends. By contrast, for Participant 2 this centered around her struggle
with understanding how much of what was experienced was about Whiteness or other factors;
“it’s hard to know how much of that is attributable to like Whiteness perhaps growing up
overseas, like all of that stuff. I just feel like it’s hard to unpack the threads” (P2, p. 15). Several
participants described moments of re-evaluating themselves and their actions (N=4). Participant
4 and 6 were both confronted with accusations of being racist which they have since thought
I hadn’t had much of an opportunity to interact with a Black population and so because I
had heard of all of these racially charged events going on I was really hesitant and didn’t
really have the language, and knowledge to be able to respectfully interact. So I think as
a result of that I probably did fall back on racist tendencies, whether I wanted to or not.
(P4, p. 15)
104
Similar to the participant’s peer, Participant 6 had a different perspective than at the time
when she was accused of being a racist, sharing that, “I can’t believe that I did that, but I know
what I was thinking it’s just really embarrassing” (P6, p. 13). This participant went on to explain
how given the information at the time the participant’s actions made sense, even if they are
incomprehensible in hindsight. Both Participants 7 and 10 learned over time things that change
how they understand themselves. Participant 7 did not have the same appreciation for TCK
identity when first repatriating as the participant had at the time of the interview after a second
repatriation. Similarly, it was not until after a friend intervened that Participant 10 was able to
recognize and process how the participant’s mother and sister’s actions had effected the
participant’s identity, “a friend helped me to realize how really messed up I was in some ways
that went back primarily to my mother assisted by my sister” (P10, p. 5). Finally, both
Participants 2 and 5 shared hindsight thoughts about their TCK identities. Participant 2 related
an inability to imagine who the participant would be without the life they had experienced. By
contrast Participant 5 shared how much a difference it made for to learn about TCK identity, and
a wish to, “roll back the clock” (P5, p. 20) so the participant could have applied that information
then.
Curiosity. The final thought reaction observed in a few participants (N= 3) was that of
being curious about the world around them, both abroad and in the US. Participant 5 reported
awe and curiosity around difference in people and her environment, “I was fascinated by how
different the houses looked and the, and how people constructed things, objects, like carrying
water” (P5, p. 7). Where Participant 5 spoke about curiosity about the differences in culture the
participant saw abroad and in meeting people from other places, Participant 9 shared this interest
and curiosity about American culture, “So I love the diversity that there is even within the United
105
States.” (P9, p. 6). By contrast, Participant 7 was most curious about the participant’s own TCK
experience.
I’ve had lots of conversations with my parents and with other people really trying to
understand my feelings around being a TCK back in America … So I’ve really been
trying to like break apart the elements of it and all the specific emotions where they’re
stemming from and how my experiences and my values differ from like an American
Action-Based Reactions
(N=10) also endorsed reacting with action in some circumstances. There were six different
action responses, rejection, doing good, identity integration, self-censoring, explaining, and
learning.
Rejection. The most common action response from participants (N=7) was one of
rejection. Participants rejected their privilege, issues of racism or white guilt, identities, their
A few participants shared the experience of rejecting privilege (N=3). For participant 3
there was an internal reaction of rejection of privilege, “whoa, this isn’t fair, I’m in law school,
there are so many White people, and it’s totally unrepresentative of the general population of the
United States. And being a little more critical about things like that” (P3, p. 9). Where
Participant 3’s reaction was internal, described as being thoughtful and critical of issues around
privilege, Participant 8 initially actively worked against White Privilege, “this is not fair, this is
unjust…I don’t like this. So I’m gonna rebel against it, which didn’t really do much to change a
whole entire culture...But I don’t know, it [privilege] just made me angry mostly” (P8, p. 12).
106
During that period the participant would try to refuse privileges like special food, which only left
Ghanaians and the participant’s family confused and in turn frustrated the participant. The last
situation where a participant rejected privilege came from Participant 6 who initially rejected the
idea that privilege was an issue the participant was a part of. When it was something the
participant first learned about, the participant felt that time abroad meant that it did not fit the
participant’s experience,
When I was younger I had more of a like ‘none of this is my problem, I don’t want to be
there’ kind of an attitude but trying to take responsibility for the privilege that I was born
with even though a lot of weird things happened along the way. (P6, p. 7)
Not unlike Participant’s rejection of privilege, others (N=2) rejected implied racism or
issues of White guilt. Participant 4 shared that when accused of being racist this participant’s
reaction was,
At first I said, I automatically in my mind and probably verbally said, ‘no I’m not racist,’
to them. Just because, like, I had grown up overseas and I had grown up in such a diverse
environment that I felt like someone with my, it was impossible for someone with my
Similarly, Participant 4 rejected the idea that the participant should feel guilty for being
White, “I don’t feel the least bit guilty because I’m White” (P10, p. 14).
A few participants (N=2) rejected their race and nationality. Participant 8 rejected White
identity as a kid because, “I mean I think every kid wants to be like everyone else. You want to
look like everyone else at least on the outside” (P8, p. 7). Similarly, Participant 7 rejected
Whiteness in that the participant did not want to marry someone White ensuring they would have
White children, due to internalized thoughts about the connotations that come with White
107
culture. Not only did Participant 7 struggle with racial identity, but also shared that the
But it was a lot of the connotations of America specifically as well as being White and I
don’t, I don’t think that I was ever really told, growing up like in the cultures that I grew
up in that there was ever explicitly said that America was negative or bad in any way, or
Participant 8 not only rejected the participant’s nationality, but also described rejecting
others’ expectations related to being an American. This participant related how, “it was sort of a
rebellion against the expectation that everybody had that I would be American” (P8, p. 2).
Another participant also discussed a similar act of rejecting external expectations; Participant 10
rejected the expectations of the participant’s mother. In this case these expectations were not
My mother who was trying to squeeze me into a mold...when I started to show who I
(P10, p. 5)
Finally, two participants had unique forms of rebellion. Participant 4 initially struggled
with the idea of being a TCK. As the participant had learned about what it meant to be a TCK
this participant felt there was a focus on the negative experiences involved. Not only did
Participant 4 feel this did not fit their experience at that time, “they didn’t fit me, I think I
probably hadn’t necessarily experienced them” (P4, p. 18), but they were not something the
Transitioning back to…your home country was going to be so challenging and you are
going to go through grief, and you’re going to, a lot of people get depressed, and you’re
going to have all these problems, and you are not going to feel like you belong, and like
this whole laundry list of things that were gonna suck. (P4, p. 18)
To add to this Participant 4 felt they negated the positives, “having all of those negative
things listed also minimized the things that I really enjoyed about being a TCK like I loved
growing up in Taiwan and having friends from around the world” (P4, p. 18). Where Participant
4 rejected TCK identity, Participant 5 had a reaction of internal rejection when faced with people
trying to focus on difference, “I just want to talk to someone or interact with someone because
they are a human being, um, not because of the race thing” (P5, p. 10).
motivation to act for the better good of others (N=6). For a few this act of doing good came in
response to some type of suffering they witnessed. Participant 1 summarized a desire to do good
in the following statement, “I have a strong urge to always do what I can to help people suffer
less” (P1, p. 6). Participant 1 remembered a story family told of how at the age of 6 or 8 how the
participant gave all of her money to women seen on the streets in Mexico after hearing that, “The
mothers would be kicked out of their houses once the husbands got married, and they would live
on the streets” (P1, p. 6). Just as Participant 1 had a desire to support people who were
struggling Participant 10 dedicated time while living in the US to being involved with agencies
that supported the Black community in the area, “I’ve run Habitat for Humanity, I’ve done a
number of things I’ve started Big Brother, Big Sister, and have actually done more in the Black
community directly than in the White community” (P10, p. 18). Participant 5 discussed a
different impetus when beginning the hobby of diving and subsequently witnessing the damage
109
done to the environment. This led to a change in profession to pursue science, “look I can’t
stand by idly and let this go by, I have to somehow be a part of the solution here, and that’s why
Where the above participants felt pulled to do good by seeing the struggles of others, two
participants had a similar reaction to their own privilege. While above Participant 1 shared how
seeing suffering pushed the participant to help, Participant 1 later stated how, “I have been very
lucky and not many horrible things have happened to me, so I’ve had a lot of happiness, and I’ve
always had a strong urge to make people happy” (P1, p. 7). So not only did seeing suffering
encourage Participant 1 to do good, but knowing the participant had been privileged with luck
was an additional impetus to help others. Participant 8 had a similar desire to do good,
And then I realized when I was 13, 14 that being White, yes was not necessarily what I
wanted, but it had privileges and I could use those privileges to do better things than just
argue against them. So I could use my influence to do stuff, which was worth doing as
opposed to just fighting the fact that I had influence, like what’s the quote from
Spiderman, like “with great power comes great responsibility” kind of thing. (P8, p. 8)
Not only did participants respond this way to their experience of privilege, but also
several (N=3) responded similarly in relation to their experiences of struggle or learning about
their identity. With the help of professors Participant 4 learned how TCK experiences gave this
participant a unique perspective. When professors pointed out the positives of TCK identity the
participant stated that, “[I] started seeing myself more objectively … and evaluating how I can
use my experiences beneficially…Like I want to be a part of changing that narrative” (P4, p. 19).
Just as Participant 4 wanted to help change the TCK narrative, this was part of Participant 9’s
110
reason for participating in this research. Participant 9 shared that, “I really desire to like help
anybody who’s doing research or like trying to help the TCK world” (P9, p. 23), and, “I also
want to be a voice for like the good stories” (P9, p. 24). Unlike the previous examples,
Participant 10’s statement about doing good was about a lesson taught by parents, “if I’m at a
gathering … I, we will very intentionally go and sit at tables with Black people. Just cause that’s
what we do. Because, but that it’s not because they’re Black, it’s because we were both raised
don’t leave anybody out” (P10, p. 14). Whether a reaction to their privilege, their identity
struggle, or a learned value system, multiple participants were pulled to respond to their world by
Identity integration. While some actions like doing good are external many participants
(N=6) during their interviews, made statements that indicated more internal actions. These
participants reacted to events by internalizing a message and integrating that message into their
personality. This integration process was most often noted in reaction to negative events (N=3).
Participant 3 shared that the participant became a more shy and cautious person as a result of
having been bullied in middle school, noting that, “I think when it [bullying] happens at a
formative age like that you become quite self-conscious” (P3, p. 2). Participant 6 also felt that
events changed the participant’s personality, noting that, “I think I went into the Peace Corps
after college and I was kind of feeling a lot more like skeptical of things and people in general
after that. So, I think I became a little less like trusting and thinking the best of people” (P6, p.
1). Finally, Participant 9 shared that this participant became more extroverted after living
without friends for two years, “I think that experience kind of changed me … it pushed me to be
more extroverted …when I did start my life in … I put myself out there to make friends” (P9, p.
12).
111
A couple participants (N=2) shared ways that moving had an effect on how they saw
themselves. For Participant 8 knowing that they would be leaving Ghana permanently at some
point was a big part of how this participant realized that they were not Ghanaian, and a catalyst
for connecting to the participant’s TCK identity. A key moment came when Participant 8
returned from furlough before the last few years in Ghana, “like, ‘this my last 3 years in Ghana
and I’m not going to be here anymore’. So, this is not permanent, I need to pick something else’”
(P8, p. 2). Similarly, Participant 9’s repatriation to the United States led the participant to adopt
an attitude where the participant accepts this move, “I’ve chosen to like say this is my home and
I’m American and I’m proud to be American and like chosen to live in the country” (P9, p. 1).
There were two unique cases of identity integration. Participant 2 felt that the participant
was seen as unattractive while living in Asia in part because Participant 2 was larger than Asian
women, and, “the Whiteness was like part of what felt othering. And definitely created some
like self-esteem and body issues, body image issues” (P2, p. 13). By contrast, Participant 10
shared that part of who Participant 10 is, is related to a lesson received from the participant’s
father, “My father taught me explicitly and implicitly that you can do anything if you put your
mind to it. Especially if you have an instruction book, that helps” (P10, p. 4).
above statements were about integrating their experiences into their personalities the following
statements relate to censoring themselves. Participant 1 avoided sharing thoughts when out with
American friends in the US, “when I would have a friend and then go shopping …in my head I
was trying not to be mad at them. You know, trying not to lecture them on how this money
could go and actually feed a family” (P1, p. 11). Participants 6 and 7 both found that their
experiences were not considered relevant during conversations of race and privilege. This left
112
Participant 6 confused, “I didn’t know what to do. I still feel that it’s not relevant and I don’t
really know what to do” (P6, p. 8), and Participant 7 shared that,
I feel like sometimes I’ve had to bite my tongue a little bit because, of the few times I
would say things about, “well my experience,” you know we were talking about High
school, teenagers or something. You know my experience was at a High School in Japan,
dismissed when trying to be an ally or show solidarity with non-White people, “they silence me
while I want to like talk about things that they’re like, ‘What are you talking about you’re White
Explaining. Two participants reacted with the feeling that they need to explain things to
others. Participant 7 is often explaining TCK experiences, “I’m constantly like in courses or
something I’m constantly having to say like, ‘well for me being a TCK’” (P7, p. 3). Participant 8
had a similar experience in that this participant was often trying to explain the participant’s point
There were a lot of struggles there and at the same point I was discovering that I was a
TCK and that this was a thing. Which the Ghanaians didn’t get, they’re remote they
never even heard of the word TCK, nor would the concept make any sense to them. And
then my parents who were too busy trying to reconcile being in Africa to even think
about what does being a TCK have to do with anything. (P8, p. 20)
Learning. Another minority experience was the reaction of treating events as a learning
experience. For example, Participant 3’s reacted to being sexualized when wearing shorts in
India in the following way, “it was also something to be learned from, like don’t wear shorts in a
113
market… me learning to be respectful, and not assuming that I can just be how I want to be in
every area” (P3, p. 7). This same attempt to learn more was seen in Participant 7’s reaction to a
deepening understanding of the TCK experience, “I’ve had lots of conversations with my parents
and with other people really trying to understand my feelings around being a TCK back in
America and what that means” (P7, p. 4). This response of learning more was the last action-
type reaction described by participants. This concludes the review of the data gathered from
interviews.
Rigor
transparent, and was clear about the limits of research findings (citation). Chapter Three has a
limitations.
Trustworthiness
to use their words as often as possible. In addition, I provided participants the opportunity to
review the transcripts and offer thoughts regarding the accuracy of the transcript. No
participants reported any significant differences between their memory of the interview and what
While coding I kept track of my thought process in organizing codes. I reviewed codes
with my chair, and on early codes with my research assistant. I also conferred with my chair
regarding any emotional reactions as well as times when I either identified with the experiences
of participants, or moments when their experiences were significantly different from my own.
Reflexivity
114
Even prior to beginning interviews I met with Dr. Singer, my chair to discuss and process
ways in which my identity and reactions will be a part of this project. Throughout the process of
conducting and coding interviews I met with my chair to discuss my reactions and thoughts to
the process. I recognize that my identity as a fellow TCK may have put me at risk of assuming
similarities that are not accurate, in addition the participants may not have assumed similarities
that changed their description of their experiences. It is also possible that my role as a researcher
may have led participants to feel self-conscious or a desire to sound good during the interview.
In addition, I know two of the participants personally from my time abroad, which may have
made it difficult for them to share information that they may have felt would disrupt our
previously developed relationship. It is, also possible that being a TCK helped participants to
feel comfortable during interviews. My identity as a White woman may also have made it
difficult for some of the participants to feel free to discuss their racial views without managing
my impression of them, or without ensuring that they educate me on issues of diversity. This
being said, being of the same race as the participants may have helped them feel that their point-
of-view will be understood. In addition, my own reactions to the process of doing interviews
may have led me to modify the structure in ways that could have changed the nature of the
information gathered. I worked to notice reactions while interviewing, and to rely on the
structure of the interviews to ensure that each participant was asked similar questions even if the
details and follow-ups of the interview were tailored to each participant’s statements.
Ethical Assurances
I made extensive efforts not only to maintain the security of all of the data collected, but
also to ensure that interviews were transcribed in such a way as to maintain the confidentiality of
115
the participants, through the omission of names and specific location. I also worked to share the
Assumptions
All efforts were made to support the participants in making accurate and objective reports
about their experiences. Despite these efforts all reports are subject to their memories and
biases.
Chapter Summary
In conclusion, participants interviewed were all White, American, TCKs who spent
significant time abroad in non-White countries as children. Their time abroad included countries
from four different continents. They underwent a range of schooling experiences, and were
overarching categories of information, Identity, Race, Third Culture Kid Identity, Privilege,
Response to Information and Events, and Feelings of Membership. Themes that emerged in
these categories, the way information connects to the literature reviewed, and implications of the
Introduction
In this chapter, the author will provide a summary of the findings, examine ways in
which the data relates to the research that has already been done regarding TCKs, White identity,
and multicultural identity, review themes in the data related to White identity in TCKs, and
finally review implications for the TCK community and possible future research.
Summary of Findings
When all the interviews were coded 6 overarching categories emerged: Identity, Race,
Privilege, Third Culture Kid (TCK) Identity, Feelings of Membership, and Responses to
Information and Events. The first four categories all related to different aspects of each
participant’s identities. By contrast, the last two related to their subjective experience of their
world, whether it be times when they either felt they belonged or did not belong, or simply their
Identity
When asked about their identities, most participants shared information about personal
characteristics, whether these be values, personality traits, internal traits, or externalized aspects
of their identities. Participants did also identify in some cases with their nationality, religious
backgrounds, TCK identities, and sponsoring agencies. A common experience for several
participants included a sense that aspects of their identity were dynamic and had changed over
responses also broke down into a subcategory related to different ways in which their identities
were shaped or influenced by their environment, whether this be from family, religion,
Race
117
When participants discussed the topic of race it broke down into three larger sub-
categories. Participants often spoke about their own personal thoughts on their racial identity.
While all are White US citizens, all recognize that they are identified as White/Caucasian,
several endorsed feeling something other than White, or having had different thoughts on their
White identity over time. For example, several at different times wished that they were a race
other than White, while others prefer to identify as human or some other racial identity. This
included participants who wished they were Black, and in one case a participant who thinks of
herself as an egg because while she is White on the outside she lived in Asia and feels
Asian/“Yellow” on the inside, and even has some identification with Brown cultures that she
Half of the participants shared thoughts on how being White meant that they stood out
visually in comparison to those around them. In addition, several participants discussed their
recognition of their White identity as coming in part from recognizing differences between
themselves and others. It is worth noting that in one unique case the participant first recognized
they were White when in a setting where others looked like the participant. The stability of
participant’s racial identity was also a noticeable theme. Where a few described their race as
stable, an equal number talked about ways in which their sense of their White identity changed
Just as many participants mentioned their racial identity from their perspective, race was
also discussed from other people’s point of view. Most participants reported that others
identified them as White. This “other-centered” White identity was not a simple concept; it
came with assumptions regarding what knowledge or privilege participants may have,
118
assumptions of racism, and a feeling that their complex identity was limited in others eyes
The final sub-category linked to Race was individual’s thoughts on race. Some
participants had negative thoughts about race in general, White people, and in one case Black
people. Some of the negative thoughts that participants had were linked to feelings of shame or
guilt, as well as a feeling that being White was limiting in some way. Many shared that as
children they had no particular thoughts regarding race. Other experiences included confusion
and or frustration around the topic of race, acceptance or feeling that racial identifiers are simply
descriptive as opposed to limiting, ambivalent or mixed feelings about race, and finally a sense
Privilege
The topic of Privilege included several subcategories related to the tone with which
participants discussed their experiences of privilege. In some cases, participants talked about
ways they felt privileged as good things. This included feeling lucky to be privileged based on
being White, a TCK, a US citizen, having access to a good education, or supportive family. In
some cases, participants recognized positive experiences they had related to privilege, but did not
By contrast, in some cases participants noted negative aspects of having privilege. For
some they found privilege isolating. In other cases, they felt that part of their privileged identity
led to safety concerns or a sense of entitlement. Finally, a few noted feeling like they were
misperceived regarding a privileged part of their identity, or that there were expectations placed
The most common sentiment expressed regarding privilege was one of neutrality, feeling
This included a sense that in some cases participants were only partially privileged, or were
TCK Identity
The last identity related category that emerged from the data was related to participants’
TCK experience. Four participants talked about general TCK experience characteristics such as
the need for code switching, feeling like an invisible immigrant while in their passport nation, or
feeling like they do not belong anywhere. Many also talked about their thoughts regarding TCK
identity. Some felt positively about being TCKs, particularly the unique perspective it provides.
Others had mixed feelings about being a TCK, or a neutral sense that TCK identity provides a
frame of reference for understanding their experience. Finally, some had negative impressions
of TCK identity, either feeling like it minimized positives, or focused heavily on negatives such
The majority of the data that fell under the TCK umbrella related to the experience of
reverse culture shock and the ways in which age at repatriation could make a difference. Several
participants shared that things were better abroad. This subcategory also included an in-depth
look at resources that were or were not available to participants during their repatriation process,
including access to their family, preparation, support, friends, and a sense of shared experience.
No one repatriation experience was the same, and while many related that they did not have
access to some of these resources this was not universal. Some participants felt more prepared
than others, or more supported than others. Not only did the resources available range between
120
participants, but in some cases within one participant’s experience. Sometimes, a participant felt
that family were both a source of support while also not being present all the time, or they were
Feelings of Membership
This category related to times and situations when participants felt either like a member
of an in-group, or like they did not belong for one reason or another. There are two key ways in
which this category is different from identity. First, identity is purely from the participant’s
point of view, and when individuals felt that they did not belong sometimes it was from their
perspective, and sometimes it was because others treated them as outsiders. The other key
distinction is that on occasion participants may have felt like they were part of an in-group even
when this is not a group they would claim as part of their identity.
membership, and feeling like a non-member. A range of factors allowed participants to feel they
belonged at different times. Such factors include identifying with others through nationality,
common was also a way in which participants felt they belonged. This included shared
experiences or shared interests, or having a location in common whether that be abroad or in the
United States. Finally, one unique category that led participants to feel like they were a part of
an in-group included the experience of passing for a member of said group despite not
A common experience among participants was that of feeling like an outsider. For most,
some of this being othered was related to how they present to the world. Some of the ways
participants presented included their skin color, their physical characteristics, and the language
121
they used. In addition, othering factors included identity features such as religion and
nationality, and a lack of shared experience. In several cases participants were able to identify
times when they felt like they did not belong without being able to pin-point the exact cause,
either because there were several possible causes that could not be separated from one another
such as nationality and race, or because the participant simply did not identify a cause.
Participants not only described feeling like they did not belong abroad outside of their
passport nation/nations, but also had similar experiences while in the United States. In almost all
cases this sensation of being different or other was described using negative or neutral terms. In
the worst situations events left participants feeling fear or mild discomfort. Often participants
described being different with a tone of acceptance, this was a normal part of their world. Only
in two cases was being different described as a positive thing, and in these cases the events
Feeling different was a common occurrence for participants, and this difference came
both from the participant’s point of view as well as from actions or beliefs shared by others.
Both in the US and abroad participants described self-identifying as different for one reason or
another, regardless of whether they were being seen as a member of an in-group or not. The
other side to this was that participants also described others saying or acting as if they were
different. Sometimes the difference was one that they also felt internally, but at times this
Participants responded to their world in three different ways, with emotional reactions,
thought based reactions, or with some form of action. Common emotional responses included
shame and guilt, acceptance, annoyance or anger, fear, emotional struggles, and loneliness.
122
their experiences as just being normal, or part of everyday life regardless of whether there was a
discomfort or possible negative interpretation to the event. Expressions of shame and guilt
labeled here as “thoughts”. The most common form of “thought” response was an attempt to
describe their thoughts or reactions to an event they would share with the examiner reasons why
things were this way, or other ways to think about the situation. While less common, another
response was a tendency to re-evaluate one’s thoughts on an event or piece of information based
on a hind-sight perspective. Several participants shared events from their past and their reactions
at the time while also sharing how their view is different in the present. Finally, a couple
participants made statements indicating that they approached their environment with a sense of
curiosity.
While in some cases participants thought through the events of their world, another
common reaction was to take action. Participants acted in several different ways. Many reacted
to their experiences by wishing to do good, either to use their privilege for good, or simply to be
of help to others. Most participants at some point expressed a rejection of events or values in
their world, whether this be a rejection of their privilege, or commonly a rejection of information
participants reacted to new information or events by integrating the event into their sense of self
or identity, whether this was by becoming more outgoing, modifying their view of their race, or
123
becoming less trusting of others. A few participants responded to events by either wishing to
learn more, or by feeling a need to educate those around them. Finally, in a few cases
participants felt pressured to self-censor and be silent about their thoughts or experiences.
The data gathered provides valuable information about the participant’s subjective
experiences of their TCK identity, racial identity, sense of privilege, and their experiences abroad
and in the United States. In the following section the writer will show ways in which the
statements made by participants either fit the findings of earlier research, or are different from
this previous research. In this way it will be possible to identify limits of the current research, as
TCK Research
Research on TCKs has grown slowly ever since Ruth Useem (1993) first identified and
defined them. While there is no one TCK experience and many factors influence TCK’s lives
previous research does suggest a few characteristics and features common to many TCKs.
Features of TCK life. One of the themes commonly cited in the research on
TCKs/Global Nomads, was that TCKs often feel that they do not belong completely in any one
place. This was mirrored in the responses of several participants. Not only did two participants
make direct statements about not belonging, but it was also noticeable in the way participants
talked about having mixed identities: “I’m White on the outside and yellow on the inside” (P7, p.
9). While collecting research, the issue of marginality was a common theme. In some cases, it
was due to a lack of pop culture knowledge, sometimes it was related to having vastly different
life experiences, and at times related to the way they present differently from compared to their
non-TCK peers abroad and in the United States. Regardless, the research suggests that TCKs
often feel separate from others from their passport nation (Fail et al., 2004; Pollock & Van
124
Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). The above noted that TCKs often feel they are misunderstood or
misperceived. The data collected in the present study supports their findings. Multiple
participants cited a lack of shared experience as one of the difficulties they faced upon
repatriation, and several sited cultural ignorance specifically. This feeling of marginalization is
one of the ways that TCK life is difficult, and thus an important issue to bring to TCK’s
attention. Normalizing this experience may help them to recognize that they are not alone in
feeling this way. Later the feelings of marginalization related to their unique racial identities will
be discussed, along with the importance of teaching TCKs about how their racial identity may be
different from that of peers. This may help prepare them for experiences they have upon
repatriation.
many traits that appear to be common in TCKs. One such trait endorsed by previous research is
adaptability, namely the ability to blend in and to modify behavior according to the current
situation (Downey, 2012; Fail et al., 2004; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). This
was mirrored in the present study in that a few participants described ways in which they would
modify their behavior between environments, while others described a feeling of belonging as a
A second predominant trait highlighted in previous research on TCK identity was that of
open-mindedness (Fail et al., 2004; Pollock & Van Reken, 2009; Schaetti, 2000). This was
supported by participants’ responses in the present study. While they did not specifically use the
term open minded, multiple statements could be interpreted to speak to this. Notably multiple
participants shared that their TCK experiences led them to have a unique world-view. Others
mentioned feeling comfortable in diverse settings, and one in particular shared her thoughts on
125
how unfair it is that Eurocentric values permeate other cultures. Another participant shared
feeling that time in more community-oriented countries led to a unique interactional style
developed a model to better understand general cultural sensitivity and development, which
(Hammer et al., 2003). The two positions are, in their model mutually exclusive, the former
being a position of viewing the world through one’s own culture and sense that one’s culture is
ideal. Growth then leads to an ethnorelative stage where individuals recognize the value in a
range of cultures. Paige et al. (2003) raised questions about whether TCKs fit this model. They
assessed a TCK named Lena with a measure developed based on Bennett and Hammer’s model,
and Lena’s profile was invalid because while she was predominantly ethnorelative she also
The data collected in the current study cannot speak directly to the Bennett and Hammer
model, however it seems to support their findings. Just as Lena shared statements that denied
difference while also understanding a range of cultural contexts and factors, participants in this
study made statements that indicated an understanding of larger contexts, as well as some denial
of difference between individuals. A few participants seemed to reject the divisive nature of
racial division, however they also showed an interest in other cultures, a compassion for other
cultures, and an understanding of privilege. In addition, Participants 1 and 5 did share language
Participant 5 wishing to eschew racial division in discussions and just talk as fellow people),
126
however both also shared nuanced understandings of how they also held privilege. In addition,
neither made statements suggesting that their privilege was earned, or indications that injustices
based on race do not occur. This may support the findings in the case of Lena.
development that cited four TCK specific struggles, Repatriation, Nationality, Difference, and
Repatriation. Schaetti’s 2000 findings on the resolutions to the act of repatriating were
supported in part by the current research. One resolution Schaetti identified was that of the
Homecomer. This resolution involves individuals expecting to feel at home upon repatriation,
and having this expectation met. While none of the participants in the current study shared a
feeling that returning to the US was going to be a return to a place they felt was home, several
did share that they did not expect it to feel so foreign, particularly for Participant 7 who had not
experienced reverse culture shock upon previous repatriations. The position of the Stranger
disappointment of finding that one does not feel at home. This was also supported by
participants’ responses in this study. Participant 7’s last repatriation did involve the experience
of reverse culture shock. While not all participants specifically shared an expectation of an easy
transition many did share that they struggled with the transition, which may speak to this second
resolution. The final position Schaetti described was also supported by the participant’s
responses in the current study. The Cosmopolite resolution involves the expectation that
repatriation will be like any move to any other foreign country. Multiple participants shared that
they were taught what to expect regarding reverse culture shock and common TCK repatriation
127
difficulties, so while their language means one cannot assume they would identify with the
Nationality. Schaetti (2000) provided a model for TCK’s identity, which included a
Nationality component with three possible resolutions. The Insular resolution is one where the
home country’s nationality is described as better than all others. International resolution
involves allegiances to several nationalities, and Transnational is the feeling that nationality is
just a social construct. In the current study, none of the participants endorsed currently having an
Insular or American centric resolution. This being said several did indicate strong patriotism
either currently or in the past. Several participants spoke about some allegiance to host nations
in addition to their United States identities, which could support International resolution, or an
allegiance to multiple nations. While no participants spoke specifically to the idea that
nationality is just a label, some participants spoke in general terms about all people being human,
or did not indicate any strong national allegiances, which could suggest Transnational points of
Difference. The reviewed research by Schaetti (2000) showed two resolutions to the task
using a range of learned roles. Those who show a Constructive resolution have a range of
cultural scripts, but also hold an internal personal script they use to guide their behavior. The
current study does not definitively support one stance or another, however, participants did speak
about their understanding of difference, and their abilities to adapt to different circumstances.
Most were able to provide some sense of value system and personal identity. This supports the
possibility that they share some of the traits linked to a Constructive resolution.
128
through Dualism or the position that there is a singular truth, Multiplicity, or the belief that there
are several distinct truths. Schaetti found that most TCKs resolved in the latter ways, Contextual
Relativism or the sense that there are many truths and that truth is based on the context one is in,
or through Commitment Within Relativism where the above is true, but the individual has a sense
of personal values that they follow regardless of context. In the current study, participants’
tendency to think through and share their understanding of context during interviews would
support that TCKs may tend towards these two higher-order resolutions.
Both Helms (1990) and Hardiman’s (1982) reviewed models suggested that White
identity development begin with some level of naïveté or lack of contact with other races,
leading to a stage where individuals are unaware of or ignore the racial inequalities in a culture.
This was not supported by the current research as most participants shared stories of recognizing
racial difference quite early. Participant 10 reported recognizing privilege over Black peers at a
very young age. The current research may support a sense of naivety through other participant’s
statements that they felt that racism and inequality were not part of some of their early childhood
experiences, particularly time in international schools where they were in classes with students
from all over the world, without a sense of privilege based on race. Similar support may be seen
in statements made by Participants 1 and 5 who at times shared wishing to identify as human as
While participants made statements about racism not being something they thought about
as children, in this context it may be different from the denial of difference discussed in the
reviewed research. Participants did not deny other forms of privilege, for example the difference
129
between the expat community and the host community. This rebuttal of naiveté would seem to
be corroborated by the way several participants spoke clearly about their recognition of the ways
Helms’ model then continues to a stage of Resistance, which often includes avoiding
people from other races to not have to confront the dissonance of observed inequalities.
Resistance is followed by Pseudoindipendence, a time in which the White person fights racism
research did not support experiencing Resistance, nor did they make statements indicative of a
Pseudoindependence. It is worth noting that while nothing stated fits these stages, this does not
mean that participants are not or did not experience it, just that they did not spontaneously speak
to it. This being said, Participant 3, may specifically have indicated disgust at behavior similar
to Pseudoindependence when sharing discomfort with the way a school showed nominal support
to a nearby slum community by going in and giving them school supplies. This disgust seemed
linked to the feeling that this was a minimal show of support that was accompanied by both a
righteous feeling of doing good while barely scratching the surface of possible supportive
actions.
Helms’ (1990) latter developmental stages of White identity included steps to change
racial injustice by changing oneself and working to better understand one’s White identity,
confronting guilt while working towards being a better activist in the fight against racism. This
type of stance was notable in statements made by one participant, who has done extensive
learning about racism and White privilege in terms of individual identity, and yet another
participant specifically whose White identity shifted when while working in a predominantly
non-White community in North Carolina. In the current research a Participant initially denied
130
being racist when accused of bias by a student. This participant later accepted that the student
may have been correct in perceiving a bias towards White students, albeit an unconscious one. A
few others also discussed the way in which they have recently grappled with working towards
understanding their racial identity better, which at the very least could suggest the beginnings of
Interpretation of Findings
The previous sections have addressed a general overview of themes in the data, as well as
ways in which the data collected through interviews seems to fit or differ from the research
gathered thus far regarding TCK identity, racial identity, and multicultural identity. This leaves
the task of understanding what the data reveals and how this information relates to previous
research. This includes looking at how the information gathered fits with previous research,
In the above review of existing research, the theme of marginality was discussed. This
sense of marginality appears to extend to several of the participants’ sense of their privilege and
race. While at some point each participant acknowledged being White, most shared experiences
that made them feel different from other White US American peers. Several shared that at
different times they wished they were a different race, one going so far as imagining ways could
change skin color as a child. Participant 1 prefers to identify sans race, as a human, and
Participant 7 uses the metaphor of an “egg” as a racial descriptor. Participant 2 shared a desire to
have acknowledged that living as a minority gave a perspective on the world that is different
from that of other White Americans. Many shared that at some point being White meant that
they stood out, unlike being White in the United States. Others noted that being White was
Not only did participants make clear statements about how their sense of Whiteness was
different than that of their peers, but also there was often an ambiguity when talking about
privilege. In current racial models there is an understanding that being White is a predominant
source of privilege. This would suggest that understanding one’s White identity thus includes
Particularly in the United States several participants felt that their White identity, while it
allowed them to blend in to the community, led them to be misperceived, or limited others’
understanding of their identities. In some cases, this led to being seen as odd when one did not
know about different logistical or cultural aspects of American life such as how to pump gas, or
what people were talking about when they discussed pop-culture, and other times it led to intense
All participants felt privileged to some degree or another. Some endorsed only feeling
understanding of how host nationals might have some privileges (owning a house) that they did
not. Occasionally, when participants spoke of privilege they would reference being White
specifically, but other times noted privileges related to their nationality, identity as a TCK,
access to education, or privilege that had an unclear origin. So not only were several participants
left unsure of their White identity in the United States there is a level of uncertainty regarding the
origins of privilege. If one is receiving privilege based on nationality is this privilege due to
nationality alone, or is race a part of it? A similar question can be asked of Sponsoring
Agencies, while not all those who work for State Department, or International Schools, or
missions are White, for any one individual it may be hard to separate out race from their
132
sponsoring agency, which may be predominantly staffed by White people. One participant
specifically spoke to this struggle when sharing the experience of not being held accountable in
the same way as host nationals. This participant noted that other foreigners were also afforded
this lack of accountability, so it may have been more related to being a privileged foreigner, not
participants shared a feeling that privilege was not always a comfortable or good thing in their
estimation. Several sited a feeling that privilege led individuals to feel entitled, where others
pointed out that it had an isolating effect. One participant in particular fought back against
privilege in Ghana because having privilege led to feeling different than peers. This participant
indicated that it was unfair to receive extra privileges, such as meat, simply due to White
identity. While not specifically related to privilege as much as nationality, in some cases being
identifiable as American/White was not always a positive, it came with safety concerns.
A common theme in the interviews was a feeling that even when participants had the
opportunity to learn about their TCK identity and the traits that accompany it, they did not
remember ever discussing their racial identity and what it would mean upon repatriation. Many
shared stories of learning about racism, whether in the context of slavery, the American Civil
War, or other racially tinged events such as the Mexican American war, or the internment of the
Japanese during WWII. Several, however, shared that they did not feel that they were taught
about current racial dynamics, or how racism is expressed in the US in the present.
A few participants shared that they struggled in conversations about race presently
because at times they felt silenced or like their unique perspective was not relevant to the
discussion, leaving them unsure of how to understand their place in the discussion. This was
133
mitigated for Participant 7, who was able to talk with another TCK about these topics without
fear of having statements be seen as racist, ignorant, or irrelevant, but not everyone had the
It is possible that being an invisible immigrant complicates this further. Not only did
participants feel silenced at times, but one noted others censored their conversations about race
due to the participant’s White identity. In some cases, participants felt it was assumed that they
were racist, which created a barrier they had to overcome when trying to interact in multicultural
communities, or it is assumed that they understand or are aware of the cultural norms because
they do not appear foreign. This likely puts White American TCKs in a difficult position. If this
is a topic that they are not discussing prior to repatriation they are not visually different enough
that people in the United States will recognize that they need to be taught about the culture.
They are then put in the position of needing to ask for an explanation, which may be problematic
either because they may not know what they need to learn, nor who is safe to ask. To complicate
this further, several participants shared that it is difficult or embarrassing to ask what seem to be
stupid questions, which makes it more likely that they will not have the opportunity to explore
Recommendations
This is only a preliminary exploration of the topic of White identity in TCKs. As has
been identified in the research TCK experiences are not all the same, they vary based on
sponsoring agency, locations lived in, number of moves, type of schooling, and a host of other
factors. Even this small section of TCKs who share a nationality, similar amounts of time
abroad, time in non-White countries, as well as repatriation had a range of experiences. More
research would need to be conducted to better understand White TCK identities, and eventually
134
this should include a review of White identity in those who lived in predominantly White
countries, as it could still differ significantly from that of White Americans who are not TCKs.
The data collected in this study suggests that mobility, country/countries lived in,
schooling type, and sponsoring agency were, as indicated in prior research, relevant sources of
influence regarding participants’ experiences and identities. Further research looking into the
influence of these factors on racial identity may help those who educate TCKs help them gain
insight into their racial identities give these factors. It would also be beneficial to continue using
the IDI to determine whether the findings from the case study of Lena (Paige et al., 2003) are
Finally, it would be ideal to also expand this research into racial identities for those who
are not White. Just as no research had been done looking into the White minority experience of
White TCKs thus far this examiner has not seen research looking at Black identity in Black,
American TCKs, or Asian, American, TCKs, or any other American TCKs of other
races/ethnicities. While it is theoretically possible that their experiences match the racial identity
models that have been developed thus far, it would seem likely that their multicultural
experiences have put them in a similarly unique position as those participants who were
interviewed for this research. They too, would likely benefit from support in understanding their
Implications
The data collected would seem to indicate that just as TCKs feel a sense of being in-
between when it comes to their nationality, and cultural identities that those who are White and
grew up in non-White countries may experience a similar confusing in-between feeling regarding
their racial identity. Participants shared feelings of being White and also feeling something other
than White, or being White in a different way than their American peers. Whiteness did involve
135
standing out, which at times was described as uncomfortable, but was also simply accepted as
their normal. Participants did seem to share central identities that were not centered
predominantly around their race. This is true of White identity models, but at the same time
several shared both identifications with minority racial identities as well as a feeling of
understanding what it is like to be a minority, which is not consistent with White identity models.
They also had mixed experiences of Privilege, including noticing ways in which privilege was
not always positive as it could lead to entitlement, feeling misunderstood, feelings of guilt, or
These unique experiences are important because several participants shared that they did
not feel that they were taught about their racial identity in a way that prepared them for what they
experienced when they repatriated. Many had learned about racism, slavery, and America’s
history, but several reported not understanding how racism continued to express itself in the
United States, nor ways in which their identity as White Americans might be different from
peers. While in most cases participants did not share a sense of distress related to this lack of
preparation, several shared that they were often called racist for behaviors they did not mean to
This lack of preparation was not limited to participants who had little to no education
regarding TCK identity or issues related to repatriation. This would suggest that the topic of
racial identity is one that needs to be added to the literature provided to TCKs, their families, and
those who develop re-entry seminars. This is not to say that all White TCKs will share these
participant’s thoughts regarding their racial identity, nor that only White TCKs are in the
position of needing support with understanding their racial identity, but that this appears to be a
There are several reasons this is an important issue to address. For one race and racism
are topics that are difficult to discuss in the United States and often are accompanied by
heightened emotions. Some participants felt silenced in situations where race came up because
their experiences are so different. If this happens this leaves them with few venues to process
and think through their racial identity. Helms (1990) shared that to be a part of creating a more
positive racial dynamic White people need to have an understanding of their White identity and
the privilege that accompanies it. This is likely true for TCKs, and if they continued to feel
silenced a strong, positive White identity is one that will be difficult to develop.
Furthermore, the White identity models available do not appear to fit many of the
experiences that these participants shared in their interviews. Thus further research to help
develop a more inclusive model for White identity in TCKs may help future TCKs in thinking
about and understanding their White identity, and thus help them be more active members in the
In short, those interviewed would have benefitted from being taught specifically about
racial dynamics in the US, taught about White identity, and ways in which their experiences may
be different from American peers, and being provided a space to talk about race and racism
where others have similar experiences so that they do not feel pressure to conform to the
dynamics of those with different experiences, or feeling that they risk being misinterpreted as
racist.
re-entry seminars or TCK identity workshops. This is supported by research by several authors
which indicates that for White individuals need to be aware of their privilege to be effective
allies to less privileged groups (Applebaum & Stoik, 2000; Case, 2012; Goren & Plaut, 2012).
137
This discussion should include an open discussion between the TCKs about their experience of
privilege and race both abroad and in the United States. This second part of the discussion
would help meet the need participants shared in the current study to explore with other TCKs
their unique experience. Similarly, a discussion about White US Identity should be added to re-
entry seminars or TCK identity workshops. This should not only include information about
current models but a discussion of TCKs thoughts about these models, how they are relevant,
and how they are not. The above discussions should help provide TCKs with the information on
White identity and privilege that they need to be able to interact positively with US American
Conclusion
identity, because unlike my US peers I grew up as a White minority. As I began learning about
White identity in the US and White privilege I found myself confused as to how my experiences
fit with the experiences of those around me who grew up in very different ways. Reviewing
research on White identity such as that done by Hardiman (1982) and Helms (1990) provided
minimal support because their models did not fit my experiences. A review of TCK literature
was helpful regarding many TCK characteristics, but provided no information regarding racial
identity. This exploration of TCK identity led to a case study that suggested what I was
experiencing might be common for TCKs when a case study showed that a TCK’s profile on a
measure of intercultural sensitivity did not conform to the theory the model was based on.
This led to the question I pose in this study, what does it mean to be White if you grew up
showed a range of themes. While all participants identify as White and US Americans when
asked about their racial identities several had a mix of feelings, either in the present, or based on
138
their racial thoughts as children. Several participants shared that they were unsure of where they
fit in racially, as they recognized they were not the same as their White American peers, nor
were they like non-White Americans. Several shared feelings similar to mine, recognizing that
they stood out while abroad, and sometimes even in the US. In addition, several found it
difficult to discuss topics of race and racial identity either because they were assumed to be
racist, or because their experiences were so different they were led to feel they were not relevant
to discussions.
agencies, attending a range of schooling types, and living in countries across three predominantly
non-White continents. They also ranged regarding their introductions to TCK identity. While
most learned about TCK as a term while still abroad as youths, two were unaware of this identity
until after adulthood. Even those who know about TCK identity and learned about the
difficulties related to a global life, struggled with their understanding of their racial identities.
This was true even for those who went through repatriation seminars or repatriation preparation
classes.
The fact that despite preparation participants still struggled to understand and come to
terms with their racial identity and place in US racial dynamics suggests that this is a topic that
still needs to be examined and better taught to future TCKs. More research is needed so that this
phenomenon can be better understood, and more attention needs to be brought to the way in
which racial identity is a part of an individual’s identity that is also affected by a global
childhood, and what this may mean for the process of repatriation. It would seem that the feeling
of being in-between, not fully is also a part of racial identity for TCKs, and the more we can
139
understand this the more we can help future Global Nomads understand their experiences and the
References
Applebaum, B., & Stoik, E. (2000). On the meaning and necessity of a White, anti-racist
Case, K. A. (2012). Discovering the privilege of Whiteness: White women’s reflections on anti-
racist identity and ally behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 68(1), 78-96.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches
Doka, K. J. (1999). Disenfranchised grief. Bereavement Care: For all those Who Help the
Downey, D. L. (2012). Identity, mobility, and marginality: Counseling third culture kids in
college (MA). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text, ProQuest
Downie, R. D. (1976). Re-entry experiences and identity formation of third culture experienced
Elo, S. K. H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing,
62(1), 107-15.
Fail, H., Thompson, J., & Walker, G. (2004). Belonging, identity and third culture kids: Life
Gilbert, K. R. (2008). Loss and grief between and among cultures: The experience of third
Goren, M. J., & Plaut, V. C. (2012). Identity form matters: White racial identity and attitudes
Greenholtz, J., & Kim, J. (2009). The cultural hybridity of Lena: A multi-method case study of a
Hammer, M. R., Bennett, M. J., & Wiseman, R. (2003). Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The
27(4), 421-443.
Hardiman, R. (1982). White identity development: A process oriented model for describing the
Dissertations & Theses Full Text, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (303243863).
Helms, J. E. (1990). Toward a model of racial identity develoment. In J. E. Helms (Ed.), Black
and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 49-66)
Helms, J. E. (1992). A race is a nice thing to have: Guide to being a White person or
understanding the White persons in your life. Topeka, Kansas: Content Communications.
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis.
Lietz, C., Langer, C., & Furman, R. (2006). Establishing trustworthiness in qualitative research
8322.2009.00685.x
Melles, E. A., & Schwartz, J. (2013). Does the third culture kid experience predict levels of
Miller, P. H. (2009). Theories of Developmental Psychology. (5th ed.). NY: Worth Publishers.
142
Paige, R. M., Jacobs-Cassuto, M., Yershova, Y. A., & DeJaeghere, J. (2003). Assessing
Pedersen, F. A., & Sullivan, E. J. (1964). Relationships among geographical mobility, parental
Pollock, D. C., & Van Reken, R. E. (2009). Third culture kids: Growing up among worlds.
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text, ProQuest Dissertations &
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (5th ed.).
Useem, R. H. (1993). Third culture kids: Focus of major study – TCK mother pens history field.
Newslinks, 12(3).
Weintraub, S. R. (2009). Working with and for: Advocates' experience of feminist relational
advocacy (Ph.D.). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (304830878).
143
Appendix A
Recruitment Flyer
144
Appendix B
I am a student at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. This study is being conducted
I am asking you to participate in a research study. Please take your time to read the information
below and feel free to ask any questions before signing this document.
Purpose: This research study is being conducted by Jessica Hilbert, a doctoral candidate in
understand how White Third Culture Kids (TCKs)/Global Nomads understand their racial
identity. The information obtained in this study may help inform how TCKs are prepared for life
abroad, for repatriation, as well as how they can be supported by teachers, parents, and
clinicians.
Procedures: If you are interested you will first be asked to fill out a demographics questionnaire,
to help determine your eligibility for the study. Participants must be above the age of 18, US
citizens, White, and must have lived at least 6 years in predominantly non-White environments
abroad. If deemed eligible then you will be contacted and asked to participate in a recorded,
semi-structured interview examining your experience of White racial identity. The interview
will last approximately 1-1.5 hours, and will take place in person, or over the phone.
145
Participation in this study is completely your choice, and you are free either to not take
Compensation: All participant’s names will be entered in to a raffle for 3, $30 dollar Amazon
gift cards.
Risks and Benefits: There is a small chance that the interview may raise some personal or
uncomfortable issues for you. If you feel upset or would like to talk more about the feelings you
have, I will give you a list of places that you can call to do so.
Your participation in the research is completely voluntary. If you choose to take part in
the research you may stop at any time. You do not have to answer any question you do not want
to answer.
You may find that the questions I ask will help you think about your experience as a
White person abroad and in the US in new ways. Also, the information you provide will help to
develop an understanding of what it is like to be a White person who has spent extended amounts
of time in non-White countries as a kid. This may help those who support TCKs better
Alternatives to Participation: Participation in this study is voluntary. You may withdraw from
Confidentiality: During this study, information will be collected about you for the purpose of
this research. This includes your name, age, race, date of birth, and contact information. All
participants will be provided an participant ID number and a separate document holding their ID
numbers and personal information will be created. This document will be password protected
and kept on a separate protected USB device. All other documents will have the personal
information removed and will only be identified using the individual’s ID number. All
146
documents will be password protected and stored on protected USB devices. All research
materials, when not in use, will be safely locked in a lock box in the examiner’s home. Per APA
guidelines research materials will be kept for a minimum of five years after publication, and then
destroyed. Participants have the right to confidentiality, except in two specific situations. If
anything a participant says lead the examiner to believe they are at risk of killing themselves or
another confidentiality must be broken for their protection and the protection of those around
them. In addition if they says something that leads to the belief that a child, elderly, or disabled
Your research records may be reviewed by federal agencies whose responsibility is to protect
human subjects participating in research, including the Office of Human Research Protections
Questions/Concerns: If you have questions related to the procedures described in this document
rsinger@thechicagoschool.edu .
If you have questions concerning your rights in this research study you may contact the
Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is concerned with the protection of subjects in
research project. You may reach the IRB office Monday-Friday by calling 312.467.2343 or
writing: Institutional Review Board, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 325
Participant:
147
I have read the above information and have received satisfactory answers to my
questions. I understand the research project and the procedures involved have been
not have to sign this form if I do not want to be part of this research project. I may keep a
copy of this consent form for my records. In typing my name below I am signing my
________________________________________
Signature of Participant
Date: __________
_______Jessica Hilbert___________________
Date: ____________
148
Appendix C
Demographics Questionnaire
Name: Address
Phone Number
Nationality:
Race: White/Caucasian
Black
Indian/South Asian
East Asian
Native American
Latino/Latina
Middle Eastern/Arab
Other:___________________
Black
Indian/South Asian
East Asian
Native American
Latino/Latina
Middle Eastern/Arab
Other:___________________
Black
Indian/South Asian
East Asian
Native American
Latino/Latina
Middle Eastern/Arab
Other:___________________
Sponsoring Agency/Agencies:
Boarding School
Public School
Home School
Residential History:
Arrived
Have you been diagnosed with a mental illness such as Major Depression, Bipolar I,
Appendix D
Semi-Structured Interview
I’m going to ask you some questions about yourself and about your experiences so that I
Please tell me what aspects of your identity are the most representative of who you are?
How do you identify your race (if not part of above answer)?
Is being White different in the US than when you were living in other countries?
Please tell me about a key event(s) that inform your understanding of your racial identity.
Anything else?
153
Are there any benefits to being the recipient of privilege, any downsides?