Natural Mentors’ Role in the Ethnic Racial Identity Development of Adolescents of Color

• In Event: 3-215 - Relations among Diverse Adolescents’ ERI, National Identities, and Their Attitudes Towards Intergroup Contact

Integrative Statement

Racial disparities in high school academic performance and attainment persist in the U.S. One consistent protective factor mitigating negative outcomes for youth of color is a strong ethnic-racial identity (ERI). The processes of exploration, affirmation, and resolution/commitment are important components of a strong ERI (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Ethnic-racial socialization is a vital process that has been associated with the exploration aspect of ERI (Hughes et al., 2006). Although these studies have primarily included parents (Priest et al., 2014), non-parental adults and older peers who serve as natural mentors within a trusting supportive relationship also have the potential to strengthen ERI development (Hurd et al., 2012). This study examined whether four specific categories of natural mentors are associated with three different processes of ERI development for high school students of color.

The study is part of a research-practice partnership with a large socioeconomically and racially diverse public high school. The larger study assessed more than 85% of the enrolled students. This study is based on the subsample of students of color: The subsample (n=308) ranged in age from 14 to 19 years old; 34.4% 9th graders, 40.9% 10th graders, 24.7% 11th graders; 50.3% male, 44.2% female and 5.5% transgender/other. The subsample was 25.3% Black, 35.1% Latinx, 20.8% Asian, 0.6% Native American, and 16.6% Bi-racial. Mentor impact on student ERI development was measured by an adaptation of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (Phinney, 1992); each item was proceeded by the phrase “because of my relationship with my mentor” (α = 0.941). Three subscales of exploration, affirmation, and resolution/commitment were created from this overall scale. Six items from the race centrality scale (Sellers et al., 1998), mentor type, and the degree to which students felt they shared a similar racial background to their mentor were also measured to identify any potential relationships to mentor impact on student ERI.

The most common mentor type was non-parental family member (38.3%) followed by older peer (25%), school staff (23.1%) and other (13.6%). Students reported higher levels of perceived mentor impact (range 1-4) on the affirmation process of ERI (M = 3.02, SD = 0.70) as compared to exploration (M = 2.65, SD = 0.67) or resolution/commitment (M = 2.85, SD = 0.71). Students with family members as their mentor reported the highest mean score (although mean differences were not significant). However, mean differences of mentor impact on ERI between students who shared a racial background with their mentor (M = 2.99) and those who did not (M = 2.55) were significant (p<0.001). Mentor impact on ERI was related to students’ race centrality overall (r = 0.318, p<0.001). Interestingly, mentor impact on ERI was not related to whether or not students’ identified race as a central factor in their social relationships. Table 1 illustrates the correlations between ERI development and race centrality.

These findings suggest that natural mentors support students of color with their ERI development and inform their ERI centrality. Further discussion will focus on how these processes might differ across gender and racial identity.

Authors

• Megan Satterthwaite Freiman, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  Presenting Author

• Nancy Hill, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• John Perella, Revere Public Schools
  Non-Presenting Author

• Belle Liang, Boston College
  Non-Presenting Author