Coming into Focus: Mixed-Methods Analysis of Family Ethnic Socialization and White Adolescents’ Ethnic Racial Identity Development

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Family Context & Processes

Abstract

Familial messages on ethnicity and race, or family ethnic socialization (FES), are integral components of the ecological milieu in which adolescents develop an ethnic-racial identity (ERI; Hughes et al., 2006). Compared to youth of color, ERI is less salient and less frequently discussed among White adolescents (Hughes et al., 2018). A potential exception is White adolescents whose families more recently immigrated to the U.S. (Koutrelakos, 2013). Research on White FES has focused on racial (e.g., power & privilege) instead of ethnic socialization (e.g., culture; Loyd & Gaither, 2018). Further investigation of how White adolescents interpret and internalize familial ethnic-racial messaging is needed.

The current mixed-methods study examined White adolescents’ FES experiences and ERI development, as well as how these experiences varied with immigrant generation. Quantitative data enabled us to explore whether adolescents with higher FES and more immigrant family members tended to have higher ERI. Qualitative data gave voice to adolescents’ perceptions of the roles of FES and ethnic heritage in their ERI development.

From a larger study of ERI in an ethno-racially diverse high school (N=1,553; 46.8% non-Latino White), the current analyses included 683 participants who self-identified as White (Table 1). Participants completed self-report surveys of ERI (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2004; exploration =.85, resolution =.86), and FES (Umaña-Taylor, 2001; overt =.91, covert =.81). Cluster analyses of ERI scores were used to classify participants as high (achieved) or low (diffused) ERI identity status (Umaña-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). Four focus groups were conducted with 34 White participants (Table 1), stratified by ERI status and grade level (Achieved 9th-10th grade n=7; Achieved 11th-12th grade n=7; Diffused 9th-10th grade n=10; Diffused 11th-12th grade n=10). Group discussions (approximately 60-90 minutes) asked adolescents about their experiences and opinions related to exploring and understanding their ERI. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and reviewed by a team of two White, two Black, one Asian, and one Latinx researcher. The lead and second authors generated themes relating to family, which were refined via consensus (Table 2).

In the quantitative survey data, overt and covert FES were positively correlated with ERI exploration and resolution (Table 1). The number of youth’s parents and grandparents born in the U.S. was negatively correlated with ERI exploration and FES. Emergent themes from the qualitative focus group discussions (Table 2) included family ethnic practices such as food and religion. Some students reported these activities in reference to their own ethnic-racial group, whereas others perceived an absence of such cultural norms as unique to White American identity. Adolescents identified ancestral heritage (e.g., Russian grandparents) informing their understanding of ethnicity. Adolescents also referenced intergenerational loss of ethnic heritage for White individuals in the U.S.
Analyses supported several extant findings in the literature on FES and ERI, specifically that adolescent reported-FES corresponded with higher engagement in ERI (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2006) and more immigrant family members (Koutrelakos, 2013). The findings also affirmed and expanded upon ethnic-racial socialization among White adolescents (Hagerman, 2017) including rich description of FES practices and complex adolescent understandings of race and heritage.

Authors

• Ashley Ison, Harvard University
  Presenting Author

• Michael R Sladek, University of Oklahoma
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hua Luo, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shandra M. Jones, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Megan Satterthwaite Freiman, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author