Biography

Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor is a Foundation Professor at Arizona State University in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. She received her B.A. in Psychology and her M.S. in Child Development and Family Relationships, both from the University of Texas at Austin; she received her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research focuses on ethnic identity formation, familial socialization processes, and culturally informed risk and protective factors. Her expertise lies primarily in the developmental period of adolescence, and her work is largely informed by an ecological framework, with an emphasis on understanding how individual and contextual factors interact to inform adolescent development and adjustment. Dr. Umaña-Taylor takes an interdisciplinary approach to her work, drawing from developmental psychology, social psychology, community and cultural psychology, family studies, and sociology. She currently serves on multiple editorial boards (e.g., Child Development, Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal of Marriage and Family), and as a Study Section member of a review panel for the National Institutes of Health. She has served as a member of the Executive Council of the Society for Research on Adolescence and as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council on Family Relations. Her work is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health.

1-158 - Ethnic-Racial Identity Across Space and Time: Considerations for Future Research and Intervention

Session Type: Invited Address

Integrative Statement

Research on ethnic identity and on racial identity has grown exponentially in the past 25 years and has resulted in significant conceptual and methodological advances, including the introduction of the Ethnic-Racial Identity (ERI) meta-construct. ERI is recognized as a key aspect of normative development among ethnic minority youth, and numerous studies have demonstrated the promotive and/or protective function that this developmental resource can serve. This work also has led to a more nuanced understanding of the construct, with findings illustrating the complexity with which ERI develops across space (e.g., school, family, neighborhoods) and time (e.g., developmental period). In this talk, I will present a timeline of progress that has been made in the study of ERI, highlighting major conceptual and methodological advances, best practices for research on ERI, and directions for future research that are essential to move our understanding of this important construct forward. I will conclude with a discussion of how ERI may provide an ideal, non-stigmatizing approach for preventive intervention work with ethnic minority youth.

Sub Unit

• SRCD Biennial Meeting

Chair

• Oscar Barbarin, Tulane University

Speaker

• Adriana J. Umana-Taylor, Arizona State University