The Role of Ethnic-Racial Identity and Self-Esteem in Intergroup Contact Attitudes.

Adolescents' ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, resolution, and affirmation inform their approach and avoidance attitudes toward intergroup contact, but the potential mechanisms through which this occurs have been underexplored. Given the evidence that adolescents with higher ERI exploration, resolution, and affirmation also report higher self-esteem, and self-esteem is theorized to facilitate openness to intergroup contact, the current study explored the role of self-esteem as a mediator of the relation between adolescents' ERI and their intergroup contact attitudes. Participants were 4606 adolescents (Mage = 16.35, SD = 1.16; 37.5% White, 27.1% Black, 20.7% Latinx, 11.7% Asian American, 3% Native American) from the U.S. Southwest and Midwest. The three waves of data were collected between March 2017 and March 2018. Results from longitudinal multigroup path models indicated that across all ethnic-racial groups there were positive direct relations between Wave 1 (W1) ERI resolution and W2 self-esteem (7 months later). In turn, W2 self-esteem was positively related to W3 approach attitudes (12 months later) and negatively related to W3 avoidance attitudes. The relations between ERI resolution and both approach and avoidance attitudes were fully mediated by self-esteem across all ethnic-racial groups. Notably the baseline values (W1) of all mediation and outcome variables (W2, W3) were included, suggesting that ERI resolution at baseline predicted increases in self-esteem, which predicted subsequent increases in approach attitudes and decreases in avoidance attitudes. ERI exploration and affirmation were not significant predictors of later self-esteem or contact attitudes. These findings suggest that of the three dimensions of ERI examined, resolution is the primary driver of the increases in self-esteem that inform adolescents' attitudes towards interaction with ethnic-racial outgroup members.

Assessing Invariance of Universal Ethnic-Racial Identity Measures Among Black Adolescents in the United States.

Black immigrants and their children represent a significant and growing share of the U.S. Black population; however, their experiences of their multifaceted identities are often collapsed into the experiences of multigenerational Black youth. The current study investigates whether generalized ethnic-racial identity measures are equivalent for Black youth with an immigrant parent and Black youth with only U.S.-born parents. Participants were 767 Black adolescents (16.6% immigrant-origin; Mage = 16.28, SD = 1.12) attending diverse high schools in two regions of the U.S. Participants completed the affirmation, exploration, and resolution subscales of the Ethnic Identity Scale-Brief (EIS-B), along with the centrality and public regard subscales of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen (MIBI-T). The results indicated that, whereas the EIS-B demonstrated scalar invariance, the MIBI-T demonstrated partial scalar invariance. Accounting for measurement error, immigrant-origin youth reported lower affirmation than multigenerational U.S.-origin youth. Across groups, ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution scores were positively associated with family ethnic socialization; ethnic-racial identity affirmation was positively associated with self-esteem; and ethnic-racial identity public regard was negatively associated with ethnic-racial discrimination, supporting convergent validity. Conversely, centrality was positively associated with discrimination among multigenerational U.S.-origin Black youth, but the relation was not significant among immigrant-origin Black youth. These results fill a methodological gap in the literature, providing researchers with empirical support for considering whether to pool immigrant-origin and multigenerational U.S.-origin Black youth in analyses regarding ethnic-racial identity.

Raising "Antiracist Disruptors": Illuminating Socialization Practices that Support Antiracism in Multiracial Households.

Although an emerging body of literature has advanced our knowledge of how monoracial parents can support their multiracial children in understanding the ethnic-racial identities they hold, there is a dearth of research exploring how parents socialize their children towards antiracism. Drawing from ten interviews with monoracial parents of multiracial children, this paper illuminates how parents leverage multiracial socialization practices, as identified in previous academic research, to instill an antiracist orientation in their children. Using consensual qualitative analyses, we find that although all parents had a vested interest in the wellbeing and identity development of their multiracial children, parents qualitatively differed in their ability and willingness to instill an antiracist orientation in their children. Specifically, parents in our sample exhibited five approaches to multiracial socialization, ranging from those that reinforced dominant racial ideologies to those that explicitly aimed to prepare youth to become antiracist activists. We also describe how monoracial parents' lived experiences are implicated in their engagement in multiracial socialization practices, especially those that better position them to prepare their children to engage in antiracism. Our findings illuminate how monoracial parents may engage in a repertoire of strategies in order to foster antiracism in multiracial children, molding the next generation of "antiracist disruptors."

Personalized Neural Networks Underlie Individual Differences in Ethnic Identity Exploration and Resolution.

This study examined how ethnic identity relates to large-scale brain networks implicated in social interactions, social cognition, self-definition, and cognitive control. Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (GIMME) was used to create sparse, person-specific networks among the default mode and frontoparietal resting-state networks in a diverse sample of 104 youths aged 17-21. Links between neural density (i.e., number of connections within and between these networks) and ethnic identity exploration and resolution were evaluated in the full sample. Ethnic identity resolution was positively related to frontoparietal network density, suggesting that having clarity about one's ethnic group membership is associated with brain network organization reflecting cognitive control. These findings help fill a critical knowledge gap about the neural underpinnings of ethnic identity.

Examining Ethnic-Racial Identity Negative Affect, Centrality, and Intergroup Contact Attitudes Among White Adolescents.

Given persisting systemic inequities, rising white nationalism, and an increasingly diverse ethnic-racial population, there is a need for empirical research on how White youth develop anti-racist competencies during adolescence. Indicators of adolescents' ethnic-racial identity (ERI), such as ERI negative affect and centrality may play an important role in this process and are important to examine specifically for White youth because they involve feelings and beliefs about membership in a group socially perceived to be dominant. In fact, ERI negative affect and centrality may operate as unique mechanisms through which White youth develop attitudes about interacting with different ethnic-racial groups. Accordingly, the current study used a prospective longitudinal design to test whether White youth's (N = 1243; Mage = 16.09, SD = 1.20; 47% female, 53% male) ERI negative affect and centrality predicted their ethnic-racial intergroup contact attitudes across a school year. Multivariate path analysis indicated that higher centrality at the beginning of the school year predicted greater avoidance attitudes later in the school year, adjusting for earlier avoidance attitudes. The interaction between ERI negative affect and centrality was marginally significant in predicting later avoidance and approach attitudes. The findings suggest that ERI may function as a mechanism through which White youth develop intergroup contact attitudes.

From Truth-Telling to Imagining New Possibilities: Listening to Youth, Families, and Communities of Color.

Every day that people of color are hyper-surveilled, harmed, threatened, diminished, dehumanized, and disenfranchised is a day absent of racial justice. In my view, this special section illuminates two critically important truths of oppression: First, it shows up physically, psychologically, and socially (e.g., the sequelae of racism), and second, the locus of the cause of the oppression is in institutions and systems. Yet, that is not the whole story. Although we need to continue including the voices and capacities of racially marginalized people in telling the truths of oppression, we also need them to be part of radically re-imagining those oppressive systems in the first place.

Belonging in diverse contexts: Sociability among same-ethnic and cross-ethnic peers.

Ethnically and racially diverse schools provide students opportunities to socially interact with both same- and cross-ethnic peers that can shape their sense of belonging within a school. This study investigates the extent to which same- or cross-ethnic friends influence feelings of school belonging in two large, diverse U.S. high schools (total N = 4,461; 9th-12th grade; 49.6% girls). Employing a longitudinal social network analytic approach, using stochastic actor-oriented modeling, this study found that students become more similar or stay similar to their same-ethnic friends, but not cross-ethnic friends, with no clear indication that students select friends based on similar levels of belonging. These novel findings highlight how feelings of school belonging are fostered through sociability in same-ethnic friend groups. Implications for interventions and other approaches to enhance school belonging are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

From home to the streets: Can cultural socialization foster Latinx youths' social responsibility?

Grassroots movements such as Poder Quince exemplify how Latinx youth intertwine their cultural heritage and traditions with civic action to create positive change within their communities. Parents' cultural socialization messages have been shown to instill cultural pride and encourage prosocial behaviors (e.g., helping others, caring for younger siblings). However, there is a dearth of research on the sociopolitical discussions Latinx adolescents have with their parents and the mechanisms by which cultural socialization encourages prosocial civic development. Drawing on data from a sample of 269 self-identified Latinx youth from three Midwestern US schools, the present study explored the direct links between parental cultural socialization and adolescents' sense of social responsibility (i.e., concern for others and caring for community) as well as the potential indirect associations via sociopolitical and civic socialization at home. Our findings suggest direct associations between cultural socialization and caring for their communities. Additionally, we observed indirect associations between cultural socialization and youths' social responsibility via family civic socialization practices and engagement in sociopolitical discussions taking place in the home.

Showing Up: A Theoretical Model of Anti-Racist Identity and Action for Latinx Youth.

Historical and contemporary political events underscore that Latinx people do not necessarily view race and racism in the United States through a shared lens with other Latinx people and other communities of color. Thus, it is critical to understand how Latinx youth develop attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that challenge white supremacy-or anti-racist identities and behaviors-that actively disrupt racial oppression communities of color face as well as their own communities. In this paper, we review theoretical mechanisms by which Latinx youth may develop anti-racist identities and actions on behalf of their own ethnic/racial communities and other communities oppressed by white supremacy. We conclude by offering suggestions for how institutions may support Latinx youth's anti-racist identities and actions.

Latinx adolescents' ethnic-racial discrimination and expected future barriers over time.

Expecting discrimination in one's future occupation is known to have negative implications for adolescents' career pathways. However, little is known about how such discriminatory expectations emerge. The current contentious sociopolitical climate toward immigrants, especially those of Latinx heritage, has contributed to heightened discrimination against adolescents in this group. The present study examined how experiences of discrimination over time relate to youths' expectations of future occupational barriers among 148 Latinx adolescents at 3 annual waves (82% U.S.-born; 53% female; Mage = 13.54 at Wave 1). Results suggest that Latinx youth report increasing exposure to ethnic-racial discrimination and objectification as a perceived foreigner over time. Moreover, as Latinx youth perceived more ethnic-racial discrimination and foreigner objectification over the course of adolescence they increasingly expected to face racial and ethnic barriers in their future occupations. Implications of these findings for an increasing Latinx youth and working-age population in the United States are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Documentation status socialization among Latinx immigrant parents.

Discriminatory legislation targeting Latinx immigrants in the United States has shifted how parents communicate with their children about the hostile political climate. One way that Latinx parents talk about and prepare their children to face prejudice is through ethnic-racial socialization, which can promote children's positive development. Few scholars, however, have focused on how Latinx immigrant families with precarious documentation status socialize their children around issues of immigration, documentation status, and the potential for family separation. The current study seeks to broaden our understanding and conceptualization of ethnic-racial socialization practices among Latinx immigrant families living in the United States to include documentation status socialization to better capture the messages parents transmit to their children about the causes and potential impacts of their documentation status. Thirty-nine Latinx immigrant mothers aged 35-53 (M = 41.66), (22 undocumented, 17 documented) were interviewed regarding the ways in which their documentation status informs their ethnic-racial socialization practices. Five subthemes of Documentation Status Socialization were identified among both undocumented and documented parents. Example of subthemes included Limitations and Restrictions of Undocumented Status, and Documentation Privilege, in which parents discussed the limitation of being undocumented as well as the privilege that comes with the legal documentation status with their youth. Our findings yield important implications for practice and research alike.

Coping with Discrimination from Peers and Adults: Implications for Adolescents' School Belonging.

School belonging is a key indicator of students' academic well-being that is threatened by adults' and peers' transgressions of discrimination. Moreover, the hierarchical power structure at school enables adults and peers to enact ethnic-racial discrimination differently, which is also more or less salient among Black, Asian American, and Latinx youth. Therefore, this study aimed to disentangle the links between adult and peer-perpetrated racial discrimination at school, five distinct coping strategies, and school belonging across ethnic-racial groups. Participants were 1686 students in grades 9-12. These results indicated that adolescents who reported peer discrimination also reported greater proactive and aggressive coping. Black youth who reported more adult discrimination also reported more proactive coping, whereas Asian and Latinx youth who reported more peer discrimination reported more proactive coping. Peer discrimination was indirectly associated with greater school belonging via proactive coping, whereas adult discrimination was directly and negatively related to belonging. These findings suggest that adolescents may be selecting to proactively cope when faced with the discrimination source they most often navigate.

Hidden populations: Uncovering the developmental experiences of minoritized populations across contexts.

This introduction to the special section on hidden populations across contexts in developmental science defines what is meant by "hidden populations" and summarizes the studies along thematic lines. Hidden populations are generally minoritized populations embedded in larger systems of oppression and inequality encapsulated within historical time and place, and importantly, they are underrepresented in developmental science. The set of 8 empirical articles discusses how being "hidden" is contextualized and operationalized through explicit and implicit ways and uses multiple methodologies to elucidate the experiences of children, youth, and families. The collection of articles is grounded in developmental and sociocultural developmental theories highlighting important cultural and contextual developmental mechanisms that impact and promote the well-being of hidden populations. Thematically, the set of articles, implicitly and explicitly, addresses minoritization and its consequences as well as elucidates resilience through multiple processes at different levels. Together, the special section advances developmental science by diversifying the populations that are represented to understand normative and culturally and contextually dependent development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Illuminating ethnic-racial socialization among undocumented Latinx parents and its implications for adolescent psychosocial functioning.

The purpose of this study is to examine how parents' documentation status informs their ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) practices and the subsequent implications for Latinx youths' psychological adjustment. The mixed-methods approach combined convergent and exploratory sequential designs to explore the breadth and depth of Latinx parents' messages to their children regarding race and ethnicity. Qualitative data were used to generate hypotheses that were tested quantitatively. Analysis of interviews revealed parents' concerns with obeying the law, avoiding interaction with others, teaching children how to deal with discrimination, the importance of transmitting their culture, and concerns for their children's ever-present fear and stress. Path analysis showed that undocumented parents utilized more cultural socialization and promotion of mistrust messages than their documented counterparts. More promotion of mistrust, in turn, was associated with higher levels of adolescent depressive symptoms. Given the current sociopolitical climate and ethnic-racial tensions in the United States, it is imperative to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the nuanced ERS practices Latinx families employ to both cope with and respond to this situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Inherently Political? Associations of Parent Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Sociopolitical Discussions with Latinx Youths' Emergent Civic Engagement.

The current study expands on ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) among Latinx families to include sociopolitical discussions as a way to better understand how these practices relate to adolescents' developmental outcomes, including their ethnic-racial identity (ERI) and their sociopolitical development. More specifically, we examined whether there were direct links between parental ERS practices and sociopolitical discussions at home and adolescents' emergent participatory citizenship via their ERI processes (i.e., exploration and resolution). These questions were examined using path analyses with 267 self-identified Latinx early adolescents (Mage  = 11.88, SD = 1.22; girls = 54.3%). Results revealed direct associations between sociopolitical discussions and cultural socialization at home with civic accountability. Thus, youth whose parents had engaged in more discussions with them about current political issues and who taught them about their ethnic heritage and history endorsed a greater sense of collective responsibility for helping community members in need. Additionally, preparation for bias and sociopolitical discussions at home were each uniquely associated with more ERI exploration, and each was also indirectly associated with expectations for future community involvement via youths' ERI exploration. Our findings come at a critical juncture in time, providing insight into ways we can support the positive ERI development and build the civic capacity of Latinx adolescents.

The Development of Ethnic-Racial Identity Process and Its Relation to Civic Beliefs among Latinx and Black American Adolescents.

Despite associations between ethnic-racial identity processes (i.e., exploration and resolution) and positive psychosocial outcomes among adolescents, limited empirical research investigates longitudinal associations between these processes and civic beliefs. To address this gap in the literature, this research explored whether changes in ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution predicted civic beliefs among adolescents. Participants included 400 Latinx (n = 121; 47.1% girls) and Black American (n = 279; 52.0% girls) adolescents in the 6th (n = 210), 7th (n = 113) and 8th Grades (n = 74). Neither initial levels nor changes in ethnic-racial identity exploration predicted civic beliefs across four time-points of the study, or across two years of middle school. Adolescents who demonstrated greater increases in ethnic-racial identity resolution across two years of middle school were likely to have greater civic beliefs by the end of the two years, as compared to adolescents who had smaller increases in resolution. These results suggest that adolescents who have an increasingly clear sense of their ethnic-racial selves may have greater access to cognitive and socioemotional resources that promote their development of beliefs on the need to advance the well-being of their communities.

Testing invariance of ethnic-racial discrimination and identity measures for adolescents across ethnic-racial groups and contexts.

Ethnic-racial discrimination experiences, ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, and attitudes toward other ethnic-racial group contact all make important contributions to individuals' health and well-being. Absent from the literature is systematic examination of whether these constructs may be measured equivalently for adolescents from different ethnic-racial groups living in different contexts. In 2 large ethno-racially diverse samples of high school students in the Southwestern (N = 2,136) and Midwestern (N = 1,055) United States, the current study tested invariance of 4 widely used measures, including Adolescent Discrimination Distress Index (Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000), Ethnic Identity Scale-Brief (Douglass & Umaña-Taylor, 2015), Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen (Scottham, Sellers, & Nguyên, 2008), and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure-Other Group Orientation (Phinney, 1992). Results from multigroup confirmatory factor analyses supported configural and metric but not scalar invariance across Asian, Black, Latinx, Native, and White American adolescents, and across geographic regions for Asian, Black, and White American adolescents. Results demonstrate the utility of these measures to examine whether associations with theoretically related constructs differ across groups and regions, but specific items preclude mean-level group difference tests for certain groups. Supporting convergent validity across ethno-racially diverse adolescents in 2 regions, scores on ethnic-racial discrimination from peers, adults in school, and other adults in society were each positively associated with depressive symptoms; ERI exploration, resolution, affirmation, centrality, and public regard scores were each positively associated with self-esteem; and other group orientation scores were positively associated with ERI achievement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic Socialization, Family Cohesion, and Ethnic Identity Development Over Time among Latinx Adolescents.

Family socialization of one's ethnic culture is essential for ethnic identity development among Latinx adolescents. However, less is known about how the likely changes in family interaction that transpire during adolescence may impact this socialization process. A three-year longitudinal study of 148 Latinx adolescents (ages 13-14; 53% females) examined how changes in youth's family ethnic socialization experiences and sense of family cohesion were related to two dimensions of their ethnic identity development (i.e., exploration and resolution). Youth's family ethnic socialization experiences and sense of family cohesion remained stable, while their exploration and resolution increased across three years. More ethnic socialization experiences at Wave 1 predicted higher initial levels and stability of ethnic identity exploration over time. However, more ethnic socialization at Wave 1 predicted higher initial levels of resolution and predicted less resolution development as youth progressed through adolescence. Among youth who perceived less ethnic socialization, a greater sense of family cohesion was associated with more initial exploration; this compensatory effect was only present at Wave 1. These results illustrate how distinct aspects of the family context uniquely and interactively inform ethnic identity exploration and resolution development.

Examining the role of majority group attitudes and bicultural identity integration on bicultural students' behavioral responses toward White Americans.

OBJECTIVE: Across a correlational cross-sectional and experimental study, we investigate how contextual variables, such as majority group perceptions, interact with individual variables, such as the relationship between ethnic and national identity, to ultimately influence intergroup relations between bicultural individuals and White Americans. METHOD: Across 2 studies (Study 1, n = 187; Study 2, n = 176), bicultural participants completed a battery of surveys measuring bicultural identity integration, impressions of majority group attitudes, and behavioral intentions targeted at majority group members. Additionally, majority group attitudes were experimentally manipulated in Study 2. RESULTS: Individuals with integrated bicultural identities were more likely to approach and less likely to avoid majority members. Although perceptions of negative majority group attitudes are typically associated with negative intergroup relations, individuals with greater harmony (Study 1) and blendedness (Study 2) between their ethnic and national identities were buffered from these adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of both individual and contextual factors in intergroup relations. The distinct effects of blendedness and harmony across self-report and experimental studies have theoretical and practical implications for our understanding of bicultural identity integration. Finally, implications for encouraging more positive intercultural relationships between majority and minority group members will be discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Peer support development among Black American and Latinx adolescents: The role of ethnic-racial centrality.

Adolescence is a developmental period when youth are increasingly likely to turn to their peers for support, and it is also a time of increased salience and development of ethnic-racial identity (ERI). Ethnic-racial centrality, a dimension of ERI, could be a predictor in the development of peer support, as youth with a stronger self-concept on the basis of their ethnic-racial identity might garner stronger peer relations. The current study examined trajectories of academic and emotional peer support as well as the role of centrality of one's ethnic-racial identity (i.e., ethnic-racial centrality) in predicting such trajectories among Black American and Latinx adolescents (N = 143, Mage = 11.91). Average levels of both academic and emotional peer support did not change over time. However, greater ethnic-racial centrality was positively related to higher initial levels of academic and emotional peer support. Ethnic-racial centrality as a potential asset for youth of color in the development of peer support is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).