1-130 - A Lifespan Perspective of Ethnic-Racial Identity: Underlying Myths, Conceptual Expansions, and Opportunities for Application

Session Type: Exchange Symposium

Integrative Statement

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is a psychological construct that reflects the beliefs and attitudes that individuals have about their ethnic-racial group memberships, as well as the processes by which these beliefs and attitudes develop over time. ERI in minority populations has garnered attention for its protective effects on academic, mental health, and behavioral development. For the most part, these associations have been documented with adolescent and young adult samples. The emphasis on adolescence in the extant literature, along with the corresponding relative neglect of children, has resulted in a critical gap in understanding of ERI as it develops and changes starting in early childhood, with underpinnings in infancy. The discontinuity in the conceptualization of identity across ages presents conceptual and methodological challenges for the field. To address these limitations, a cohesive and holistic view of ERI that recognizes development as a function of the continuous and dynamic interplay of ecological and individual factors across the lifespan is needed.

This symposium explores how ERI can be conceptualized through a lifespan lens to inform both theory and practice. The first paper challenges myths related to past conceptualizations of ERI that constricted the ways in which ERI has traditionally been studied. Paper two presents a lifespan model of ERI that emphasizes developmental processes beginning in infancy. Paper three discusses the application of the lifespan model to prevention/intervention efforts for minority and majority populations. Collectively, these papers aim to advance understanding of how to promote ERI to improve outcomes for all children and youth.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chairs

• Esther Calzada, University of Texas at Austin

• Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University

Individual Presentations

• Ten Assumptions that Guide (and Limit) Research on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development - Presenting Author: Leoandra Onnie Rogers, Northwestern University; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Kiang, Wake Forest University; Non-Presenting Author: Lauren White, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Nancy Whitesell, University of Colorado, Denver

• A Lifespan Model of Ethnic-Racial Identity Development - Presenting Author: Chelsea L. Derlan, Virginia Commonwealth University; Non-Presenting Author: Christy Michelle Byrd, North Carolina State University; Non-Presenting Author: Stephen Quintana, University of WI; Non-Presenting Author: Catherine Anicama, University of California, Berkeley; Non-Presenting Author: Jason Dyer, UC Santa Cruz; Non-Presenting Author: Adriana Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University

• An Application of the Lifespan Model of Ethnic-Racial Identity Development: Exploring Identity’s A-B-Cs in Context - Presenting Author: Amy K Marks, Suffolk University; Non-Presenting Author: Stefanie Martinez-Fuentes, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Nicole Tuitt, University of Colorado, Denver; Non-Presenting Author: Maria Pabon Gautier, St. Catherine University; Non-Presenting Author: Esther Calzada, University of Texas at Austin