Ethnic-Racial Identity and Ethnic-Racial Socialization from Family, School, Neighborhood, and the Internet

• In Event: Social Contexts of Adolescents’ Ethnic-Racial Identity Development: Advancing Multiple Methodological Approaches

Abstract

The ethnic-racial socialization messages adolescents receive can have significant implications for their identities. Because ecological models of development call for consideration of the interacting influences of multiple environments, more research is needed that explores ethnic-racial socialization from multiple contexts. The current study explored how families, schools, neighborhoods, and the internet jointly socialize ethnic-racial identity in adolescents, both through socialization messages and experiences with racial discrimination.

The research questions were: 1) What profiles of multiple contexts of socialization exist? and 2) How are the different profiles associated with ethnic-racial identity? The sample consisted of 836 U.S. adolescents aged 13 to 17 (M = 15.00, SD = 1.40) from three ethnic-racial groups: 33.1% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 43.1% Black/African American, 32.8% Latinx/Hispanic. The participants completed online surveys of socialization and discrimination, ethnic-racial identity, and critical consciousness. Family included cultural socialization, preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and pluralism. School socialization included cultural socialization, critical consciousness socialization, promotion of cultural competence, mainstream socialization, and colorblind socialization. Participants were also asked how often they searched for information on their identity online. Discrimination measures included discrimination at school, neighborhood, and the internet. ERI was measured through exploration, commitment, centrality, private regard, and public regard.

A latent profile analysis revealed four groups: Low Socialization (45.5%), High Socialization/Discrimination (17.5%), Very High Socialization/Discrimination (7.1%), and Low Discrimination (30%). The standardized means by profiles are shown in Figure 1. Those in the Low Socialization group were characterized by relatively low family and school socialization and average levels of discrimination. Adolescents in the High Socialization/Discrimination profile had both high levels of ethnic-racial socialization from parents and schools and reported high discrimination. The Very High Socialization/Discrimination profile was the smallest profile, but these adolescents had the highest amounts of ethnic-racial socialization and discrimination. The Low Discrimination profile reported the lowest amounts of racial discrimination and variant amounts of socialization.

The profiles did not vary by gender or ethnic-racial group. However, adolescents in Very High Socialization/Discrimination group (M = 15.12, SE = 0.20) were slightly older than those in Low Socialization (M = 14.98, SE = 0.07), χ2 = 5.66, p = .02 and Low Discrimination (M = 14.82, SE = 0.09) groups, χ2 = 10.82, p = .001.

In terms of ethnic-racial identity, the High and Very High Socialization/Discrimination groups reported the highest exploration, commitment, centrality, private regard, and public regard, followed by the Low Socialization and then Low Discrimination groups (Figure 2). That youth who report a combination of high socialization and high discrimination engage in more exploration and have a stronger and more positive connection to their ethnic-racial group is consistent with findings from both the parental socialization and discrimination literatures. Socialization and discrimination can prompt adolescents to try to understand the consequences of their ethnic-racial group membership for how they see themselves and interact in society. In conclusion, our findings show that ethnic-racial settings are indeed interdependent. Future research should continue to explore the ways that socialization and discrimination messages interact.

Authors

• Christy Michelle Byrd, North Carolina State University
  Presenting Author

• Lydia Harim Ahn, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author