Interpersonal racism and peer relationships: An integrative framework and directions for research

Abstract

This paper presents a call for research to examine how interpersonal racism shapes and is shaped by peer relationships in adolescence. Prior research has primarily focused on individual experiences of interpersonal racism and their effects on individual adjustment. Moreover, this work has mostly relied on static indices of the peer context, which has hampered our ability to understand interpersonal mechanisms of racism in a larger peer system. We propose a conceptual framework that examines how interpersonal racism occurs in peer relationships by identifying (1) the multiple types of interpersonal racism perpetrated in peer relationships, (2) the peer consequences of interpersonal racism, and (3) the multiple roles that peers may play in interpersonal racism. This framework integrates culturally- and intergroup contact-informed models with peer relationship models to chart a comprehensive account of the antecedents and mechanisms through which interpersonal racism is embedded and unfolds in peer relationships. Carefully understanding these complex issues is necessary to advance developmental theory and research on challenges and opportunities of intergroup peer relationships and to design more effective interventions to help reduce interpersonal racism and enhance positive intergroup peer relationships in adolescence.