“I Looked in the Mirror. I Was Like, ‘Where?’”: (Re)constructing Ethnic-Racial Identity after Receiving Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Test Results

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explains how people made sense of their co-constructed ethnic and racial identities after receiving direct-to-consumer genetic test results for the first time. Three themes surfaced (e.g., searching for deeper belonging, grappling and negotiating identity, and mitigating race and ethnicity) from journal entries and a focus group interview. The authors assert that there is a place for both science and stories in identity development; race and ethnicity are seen as cultural and scientific; and the introduction of unexpected identities is disruptive and sensemaking happens in conversation. Furthermore, the authors argue for longitudinal studies to discover the impact of genetic tests on identity over time.