Ethnic-racial Identity Development Research Articles

“They Told Me What I Was Before I Could Tell Them What I Was”: Black Girls’ Ethnic-Racial Identity Development Within Multiple Worlds

Current research on ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development among Black youth derives primarily from studies that focus on the impact of parental racial socialization from a racial/monoidentity perspective without accounting for the roles of youth’s other worlds (i.e., schools, classrooms, and peers) and the intersection of their social identities in their identity development experiences. In using Phelan, Davidson, and Cao’s Multiple Worlds model as a framework as well as Black girls’ own words, we explore the beliefs and attitudes Black girls hold about race and their own racial categorization, as well as the processes that contribute to their learning about race (and racism) during early adolescence. We find that the Black girls in the present study are making meaning of their ERI, in part, in response to stereotypical and biased messages about their identities within their multiple worlds (i.e., schools, classrooms, families, and peers). The findings support the need for an expanded view of the messages and experiences that influence the ERI development process by illustrating that schools, classrooms, peers, and families are important socializing environments that influence the ERI development process for Black girls.

Ethnic-racial discrimination experiences and ethnic-racial identity predict adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment: Evidence for a compensatory risk-resilience model

Theory and empirical evidence indicate that ethnic-racial discrimination serves as a risk factor for adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment, whereas ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development promotes positive youth adjustment and can mitigate the negative outcomes of discrimination-related risk. In Colombia, the legacies of an ethnic-racial hierarchy, mestizaje ideology (i.e., the assumption that everyone is racially mixed), and contemporary multiculturalism education reforms create a unique context for understanding adolescents’ experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination, ERI development, and their implications for psychosocial adjustment. In this study of Colombian adolescents (N = 462; Mage = 15.90 years; 47.3% female), almost 40% of participants reported experiencing ethnic-racial-based discrimination. Experiencing more frequent ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms, whereas higher ERI resolution (i.e., gaining sense of clarity about ethnic-racial group membership) and affirmation (i.e., feeling positively about ethnic-racial group membership) were associated with higher self-esteem and lower depressive symptoms. ERI exploration (i.e., learning history and gaining knowledge about ethnic-racial group membership) was also associated with higher self-esteem and moderated the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms, such that this association was stronger at higher compared to lower levels of ERI exploration. Findings provide novel evidence for ethnic-racial-related risk and resilience processes among Colombian youth.

Critical incidents in the development of (multi)ethnic-racial identity: Experiences of individuals with mixed ethnic-racial backgrounds in the U.S.

Secure ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is tied to well-being, especially for minority individuals; however, there is still little consensus on the key processes and optimal outcomes of various multiethnic-racial (ME-R; i.e., individuals with parents from different ethnic-racial groups) identity development models. In this study, we examine the critical incidents in personal and social relationships that are central to ME-R identity development. Twenty-nine ME-R individuals provided retrospective accounts of incidents and conversations they self-perceived to be critical to their ERI development. Four major themes emerged: incidents and conversations surrounding intergroup contact, confrontation, heritage, and appearance were all recalled as critical to ME-R identity development. These findings highlight the importance of studying the ways that ERI is constituted through interaction with others. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Peer support development among Black American and Latinx adolescents: The role of ethnic-racial centrality.

Adolescence is a developmental period when youth are increasingly likely to turn to their peers for support, and it is also a time of increased salience and development of ethnic-racial identity (ERI). Ethnic-racial centrality, a dimension of ERI, could be a predictor in the development of peer support, as youth with a stronger self-concept on the basis of their ethnic-racial identity might garner stronger peer relations. The current study examined trajectories of academic and emotional peer support as well as the role of centrality of one's ethnic-racial identity (i.e., ethnic-racial centrality) in predicting such trajectories among Black American and Latinx adolescents (N = 143, Mage = 11.91). Average levels of both academic and emotional peer support did not change over time. However, greater ethnic-racial centrality was positively related to higher initial levels of academic and emotional peer support. Ethnic-racial centrality as a potential asset for youth of color in the development of peer support is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Differential Influence of Same- and Cross-Ethnic Friends on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development in Early Adolescence.

Recent research has shown that peers influence ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development during early adolescence. Arguments based on social identity theory, however, suggest that only same-ethnic but not cross-ethnic friends are important for ERI development. Using longitudinal social network analysis, we examined peer influence of both same- and cross-ethnic friends on ERI attachment and private regard. Data were drawn from six ethnically diverse schools in Western Germany (N=1,349; Mage =13.3). Our results provide empirical evidence for early adolescents' ERI being influenced by same- but less by cross-ethnic friends. Considering peers' ethnicity therefore is crucial for understanding peer influence on ERI development.

Friends matter: Ethnic-racial identity and school adjustment among African American and Latino early adolescents

The current study investigated the role of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) on early adolescents’ school adjustment, as moderated by their school friends’ aggregate ERI. The study drew data from a longitudinal socioemotional project in a Midwestern U.S. middle school. Surveys were administered twice over a 6-month interval with a sample of 161 African American and Latino sixth through eighth grade students. Results suggested a promotive role of ERI, as three dimensions (public regard, private regard, and resolution) were positively related to students’ school adjustment. Additional results demonstrated the importance of friend group aggregate ERI; participants with high resolution or private regard, or a friend group with high aggregate resolution or private regard, reported higher levels of school adjustment than those with low individual and friend group-levels of these ERI dimensions. The findings provide insights into the role of social contexts and friend group beliefs on adolescents’ ERI development and school experiences.

Pathways to ethnic-racial identity development and psychological adjustment: The differential associations of cultural socialization by parents and peers.

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is a central developmental process for youth of color. Although a great deal of research establishes the importance of cultural socialization by parents to the development of ERI, limited empirical work has examined peers' role in these processes. This study uses 4 cross-sectional data sets (N = 127, 312, 257, and 238, mean age = 17.96-18.24) followed by a meta-analytic summary to test a path model of ERI development and parent and peer cultural socialization and their associations with psychological adjustment in a diverse sample of emerging adults. The final sample size adjusted meta-analytic model indicated that parent ethnic socialization predicted both ERI exploration and commitment while only peer preparation for bias predicted ERI commitment. In turn, ERI commitment and exploration predicted more positive mental health. The findings of this study highlight the importance of both parents and peers to cultural socialization processes during emerging adulthood. In particular, this study suggests that the messages peers impart about prejudice play a unique role in the development of ERI. The findings have important implications about the unique role peers play in communicating messages about prejudice as well as for ERI and the psychological adjustment of youth of color at this developmental stage. Additionally, these cross-sectional findings provide a preliminary but robust model from which researchers can frame future longitudinal work in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic/Racial Identity—A Double-Edged Sword? Associations With Discrimination and Psychological Outcomes

Given the prominence of ethnicity/race in the United States, many youths construct an ethnic/racial identity (ERI). However, ERI development occurs against a backdrop of prejudice, oppression, and discrimination. This synthetic review explores (a) how identity and discrimination are related and (b) their association with psychological health. There is a reciprocal developmental association between ERI and discrimination, in which each informs the other. Although discrimination is detrimental for mental health, its impact depends on identity. In some cases, ERI confers protection from discrimination, and in others, it poses additional vulnerabilities. A strong sense of commitment to one’s identity confers protection against the negative effects of discrimination, while high levels of identity exploration are associated with increased vulnerability. However, the importance of ethnicity/race to one’s identity both protects from and increases vulnerabilities to discrimination. Suggestions for future research to help to disambiguate these associations are offered.

Toward a New Understanding of Ethnic-Racial Settings for Ethnic-Racial Identity Development.

The purpose of this conceptual article is to advance theory and research on one critical aspect of the context of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development: ethnic-racial settings, or the objective and subjective nature of group representation within an individual's context. We present a new conceptual framework that consists of four dimensions: (1) perspective (that settings can be understood in both objective and subjective terms); (2) differentiation (how groups are defined in a setting); (3) heterogeneity (the range of groups in a setting); and (4) proximity (the distance between the individual and the setting). Clarifying this complexity is crucial for advancing a more coherent understanding of how ethnic-racial settings are related to ERI development.

Interrelations among dimensions of ethnic-racial identity during adolescence.

Two approaches to conceptualizing ethnic-racial identity development dominate the literature within developmental psychology-1 focused on the process of ethnic-racial identity development, including exploration and commitment, and another focused on the evaluative components of identity, including private and public regard. In this study, we examined the interrelations among exploration, commitment, private regard, and public regard across three years in an ethnically diverse sample of Black, Dominican, Chinese, and White early adolescents. To examine the temporal precedence of multiple identity components, we used autoregressive latent trajectory analysis, which estimated time specific relationships, as well as covariation between latent factors. Findings indicated significant cross-time relationships among all identity components. For the most part, exploration predicted commitment, private regard, and public regard but not the reverse. Relationships between commitment and regard were reciprocal. Findings varied across ethnic-racial groups. We discuss the implications of our work for understanding identity processes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Longitudinal relations between ethnic/racial identity process and content: Exploration, commitment, and salience among diverse adolescents.

The present study bridges the process and content perspectives of ethnic/racial identity (ERI) by examining the longitudinal links between identity process (i.e., exploration, commitment) and a component of identity content, salience. Data were drawn from a 4-wave longitudinal study of 405 ethnically/racially diverse adolescents (63% female) from 9th to 10th grade. Results identified a transactional relation between identity process over the long-term and content in daily experiences: adolescents with stronger ERI commitment reported higher daily mean salience and less variability in salience 6 months later. At the same time, adolescents who reported more daily variability in salience engaged in more exploration 6 months later; this was particularly evident among youth who reported lower levels of mean salience. While centrality moderated some associations, most of the longitudinal associations did not vary by centrality. Building off long-standing theories of identity development that distinguish the independent effects of exploration and commitment, the data suggest that commitment predicts daily ethnic/racial salience experiences, while exploration is predicted by daily salience. Moreover, daily salience seems to serve as a developmental mechanism informing the construction of ERI over time. Implications for ERI development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Discrimination and Ethnic-Racial Identity: Understanding Direction of Effects Using Within- and Between-Person Analyses.

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development and ethnic-racial discrimination are two salient experiences among adolescents in the United States. Despite growing awareness of the costs and benefits of these experiences individually, we know little about how they may influence one another. The current study examined competing hypotheses relating discrimination and components of ERI (i.e., exploration, resolution, affirmation) among a sample of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N=181; Mage at Wave 1=16.83, SD=1.01) across six waves of data. Findings revealed that within-person changes in discrimination predicted subsequent ERI resolution and affirmation; however, ERI did not predict subsequent discrimination. Between-person effects of discrimination on affirmation were significant. Our findings underscore the importance of discrimination experiences in shaping Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' normative developmental competencies.

Peer Influence on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development: A Multi-Site Investigation.

The peer context features prominently in theory, and increasingly in empirical research, about ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, but no studies have assessed peer influence on ERI using methods designed to properly assess peer influence. We examined peer influence on ERI centrality, private, and public regard using longitudinal social network analysis. Data were drawn from two sites: a predominantly Latina/o Southwestern (SW) school (N=1034; Mage=12.10) and a diverse Midwestern (MW) school (N=513; Mage=11.99). Findings showed that peers influenced each other's public regard over time at both sites. However, peer influence on centrality was evident in the SW site, whereas peer influence on private regard was evident in the MW site. Importantly, peer influence was evident after controlling for selection effects. Our integration of developmental, contextual, and social network perspectives offers a fruitful approach to explicate how ERI content may shift in early adolescence as a function of peer influence.

The Potential for Youth Programs To Promote African American Youth's Development of Ethnic and Racial Identity.

Effective programs for youth can reduce problem behaviors and promote positive development. In particular, cultural assets (e.g., ethnic-racial identity) are important for African American youth's health and development. In this article, we argue that youth programs represent an important social context for African American youth's development of positive ethnic-racial identity and we present a conceptual framework for understanding how such programs may affect African American youth's development in this area. Then we provide examples of evidence-based programs that have assessed this developmental process among African American youth. We conclude with considerations for research.

Time-varying effects of family ethnic socialization on ethnic-racial identity development among Latino adolescents.

Previous research has established that family ethnic socialization messages promote ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, yet it is unknown whether these effects remain constant throughout adolescence. The current study examined the time-varying effects of family ethnic socialization on ERI exploration and resolution among Latino adolescents (n = 323, Mage at T1 = 15.31, SDage = .76; 49.5% female). As adolescents progressed from middle to late adolescence, the relation between family ethnic socialization and exploration became stronger, while the relation between family ethnic socialization and resolution became weaker, with a significant difference between the magnitude of these associations emerging in late adolescence. The findings underscore the differential impact that family ethnic socialization messages can have on ERI developmental processes at different points in adolescence. In addition, the current study provides a useful illustration of how time-varying effects modeling can be used to examine how familial influences on youth development can change across developmental periods. (PsycINFO Database Record

Does Culturally Relevant Teaching Work? An Examination From Student Perspectives

Culturally relevant teaching is proposed as a powerful method for increasing student achievement and engagement and for reducing achievement gaps. Nevertheless, the research demonstrating its effectiveness consists primarily of case studies of exemplary classrooms. In addition, most of the research fails to take student perspectives into account. The current study asks whether culturally relevant teaching works by considering student perceptions of classrooms that vary in the amount of culturally relevant practices. The sample was 315 sixth- through 12th-grade students sampled from across the United States (62% female, 25% White, 25% Latino, 25% African American, and 25% Asian) who completed surveys of their experiences of culturally relevant teaching, cultural socialization, opportunities to learn about other cultures, and opportunities to learn about racism. Elements of culturally relevant teaching were significantly associated with academic outcomes and ethnic-racial identity development. The findings provide support for the effectiveness of culturally relevant teaching in everyday classrooms.

Mothers’ characteristics as predictors of adolescents’ ethnic–racial identity: An examination of Mexican-origin teen mothers.

The current longitudinal study examined Mexican-origin mothers' cultural characteristics and ethnic socialization efforts as predictors of their adolescent daughters' ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, resolution, and affirmation. Participants were 193 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (M age = 16.78 years; SD = .98) and their mothers (M age = 41.24 years; SD = 7.11). Findings indicated that mothers' familism values and ERI exploration were positively associated with mother-reported ethnic socialization efforts 1 year later. Furthermore, mothers' ERI affirmation was a significant positive predictor of adolescents' ERI affirmation 2 years later, accounting for adolescents' ERI affirmation 1 year earlier. Discussion emphasizes the significance of ERI development among adolescent mothers who are negotiating the normative development of ERI and faced with their new role as parents and cultural socializers of their young children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Development of ethnic–racial identity among Latino adolescents and the role of family

The current study modeled the simultaneous development of ethnic–racial identity (ERI) exploration and resolution for Latino adolescents (n=323, Mage at T1=15.31, SDage=.76; 49.5% female) from 9th to 12th grade. Three theoretically supported ERI trajectories emerged, including (1) high and significantly increasing exploration and resolution (i.e., “Increasingly Achieved”), (2) low and stable exploration and resolution (i.e., “Consistently Diffused”), and (3) low exploration and moderate resolution that were both stable over time (i.e., “Consistently Foreclosed”). Increasingly achieved was the most common trajectory. High levels of family ethnic socialization promoted membership into this trajectory class (relative to others) most strongly. Implications for advancing understandings of ERI development and the role of family ethnic socialization among Latino youth, as well as the focus and timing of possible intervention efforts, are discussed.

Trajectories of Ethnic-Racial Identity and Autonomy Among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers in the United States.

This study examined trajectories of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and autonomy development among Mexican-origin adolescent females in the United States (N = 181; M(age) at Wave 1 = 16.80 years, SD = 1.00) as they transitioned through the first 5 years of parenthood. Trajectories of ERI and autonomy also were examined in relation to psychosocial functioning. Unconditional latent growth models indicated significant growth in autonomy, ERI resolution, and ERI affirmation from middle to late adolescence. Conditional latent growth models indicated that autonomy and ERI exploration growth trajectories were positively associated with psychosocial adjustment. Although adolescent mothers are experiencing transitions that are not normative during adolescence, they also engage in normative developmental processes, and their engagement in such processes is linked with better adjustment.

NotExcluded From Analyses

Because research on ethnic-racial identity development largely excludes multiethno-racial youth, we used a mixed-methods approach to examine ethno-racial meanings and identification among 102 early adolescents ( M = 11.45, SD = 0.70 years) with multiethno-racial ( n = 45), mono-majority (i.e., European American; n = 29), or mono-minority (e.g., Latino, African American; n = 28) heritage. Results indicated more similarity than difference between multiethno-racial and mono-minority youth—most understood their heritage through tangible connections (e.g., language). Social (e.g., stereotypes) and individual (e.g., pride) meanings of ethno-racial heritage were also discussed. Last, we observed that most multiethno-racial youth identified with either one (53.3%) or all components of their heritage (35.6%), and these identification choices were linked to tangible experiences (e.g., travel or language proficiency). Developmental and contextual reasons for these findings are discussed.