An Empirical Examination of Racial Colour-Blindness Ideology and Psychological Well-Being Among Mixed-Race Young Adults in Lagos State

Mixed-race individuals in Nigeria occupy a psychologically complex social position shaped by both racial heritage dynamics and the predominantly ethnic identity landscape of Nigerian society, and the role of colour-blind racial ideologies in their psychological well-being has not been empirically studied. This study examines the relationship between racial colour-blindness ideology and psychological well-being among mixed-race young adults in Lagos State, South West Nigeria. A cross-sectional analytical survey is applied to 180 mixed-race young adults aged 18 to 35 years recruited through purposive snowball sampling via social communities in Lagos. The Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale adapted for the Nigerian context and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being are administered alongside a questionnaire capturing racial identity saliency, social belonging, and experiences of racial microaggressions. Regression analysis and mediation analysis via PROCESS Macro in SPSS examine the direct and indirect pathways. Available social psychology literature from West Africa identifies racial microaggression exposure as mediating the relationship between colour-blind attitudes and reduced psychological well-being in racially ambiguous individuals. Critical Race Theory and the Psychological Nigrescence Model by Cross provide the theoretical reference. This study fills a unique empirical gap in the Nigerian mixed-race psychology literature. Findings will contribute to understanding racial identity and well-being in Nigeria's increasingly diverse urban population. Keywords: colour-blindness ideology, mixed-race identity, psychological well-being, Lagos State, racial psychology.