Discuss why it is important to view biracial identity development as different from monoracial identity development. How might family relationships also impact biracial identity development?

Biracial identity development is certainly distinct from monoracial identity development.
The first difference stems from the fact that a biracial individual has the option to self-identify with one or more race of their choice. The biracial individual can choose to self-identify with only one of their racial heritages, or they may choose a label that integrates multiple racial identities. The monoracial individual generally identifies with the singular racial identity with which they are born. From a developmental perspective, the biracial individual may struggle with the pressures to identify with one race over another, either from external or internal forces. For the monoracial individual, society generally enforces strict codes of identification so that such individuals do not even have an option to experience stress over racial identification.
Secondly, the biracial individual faces different social pressures within peer culture and family structure than the monoracial one does. Biracial people often experience stereotypes and judgment from each of their respective racial groups due to their mixed-race heritage, which can make them feel as though they are not as accepted, as monoracial people are, within social groups. This, in turn, can cause biracial people to conform to the roles of their chosen racial identity in order to better fit into a given environment, thereby rejecting or minimizing their other racial heritage(s). This can cause the individual to experience stress or cognitive dissonance, as they may be unable to reconcile the differences between their internal self and their public self.
Over time, the biracial person usually chooses to broaden their peer group to include members of both racial groups, eventually integrating the disparate facets of their identity into a unified whole. This is based on Poston’s identity development model, but other scholars, such as Roots, suggest that most biracial people identify with the race society at large imposes upon them before interrogating racial identity pn their own. Furthermore, Roots postulates that biracial people sometimes identify as a “new” race separate from any established classification.
Monoracial identity development can also refer to the process by which individuals with mixed-race heritage develop their internal selves using only one race throughout their lives. For these monoracial people, the experience of having biracial or multiracial ethnicity poses fewer psychological challenges.
Family dynamics can certainly impact biracial identity development. Biracial children may be raised in families with other biracial relatives, with relatives of only one race, or with relatives that skew heavily toward one race. Biracial children who grow up with other biracial family members may choose to model their development after others or have better support systems to deal with the challenges of biracial identity development. Conversely, those who are raised in single-race families might have a more difficult time coping with the psychological and social stresses of being a biracial person due to a lack of resources or models. Furthermore, some biracial children come from families that do not fully support one of their racial heritages. These children, who face prejudice from within their own families, likely have an exceptionally difficult time accepting themselves as they are, thereby delaying the process of racial integration.