"The evolution of the United States into a multicultural nation is becoming undeniably noticeable. There has been a significant increase of interracial marriages in our country. Between 1960 and 1998, the proportion of interracial marriages increased 6 fold (U.S. Census, January 7, 1999) adding to the increasing numbers of biracial children. Due to the unique characteristics of biracial children, researchers observe that these youths may face identity conflicts and pressures to select and identify with only one of their ethnic heritages, leading to identity problems that manifest during adolescence. The objective of this study is to identify factors that may contribute to the development of positive self-identity of biracial youths. My perusal of the literature indicated that there appears to be a tendency with biracial research to focus on supporting the notion of the potential negative implication that a biracial person may face due to their unique characteristics. Rather than investigating the negative implications of being biracial, this study focused on distilling factors contributing to the development of positive self identity in biracial youths. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the complexities of biracial individuals' identity development. Participants were 10 biracial youths between the ages of 19 and 24 in Alaska. A comparison between the results of the self-esteem and ethnic identity measures with the interview answers were analyzed for any consistent patterns and relationships that may contribute toward a positive identity. It was found that factors such as socio-economic status and parental education were helpful toward identity development; more importantly, protective factors that helped to resolve conflicts regarding racial/ethnic identity and social marginality during adolescence were identified"--Leaf v.