Erika Y. Niwa

To be or not to be: An exploration of ethnic identity development in context

This qualitative study focused on the intersection of personal and ethnic identities among forty African American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Chinese American high school students. The patterns in content indicated that for the Puerto Ricans, the intersection of their personal and social identities was a series of accommodations to a positive peer climate and a resistance to being Dominican. For the other ethnic groups, the intersection of their personal and social identities consisted of a process of resistance and accommodation to negative stereotypes projected on them by their peers and, for African Americans, themselves.

Trajectories of Ethnic-Racial Discrimination Among Ethnically Diverse Early Adolescents: Associations With Psychological and Social Adjustment

Using longitudinal data, the authors assessed 585 Dominican, Chinese, and African American adolescents (Grades 6-8, M(age) at W1 = 11.83) to determine patterns over time of perceived ethnic-racial discrimination from adults and peers; if these patterns varied by gender, ethnicity, and immigrant status; and whether they are associated with psychological (self-esteem, depressive symptoms) and social (friend and teacher relationship quality, school belonging) adjustment. Two longitudinal patterns for adult discrimination and three longitudinal patterns for peer discrimination were identified using a semiparametric mixture model. These trajectories were distinct with regard to the initial level, shape, and changes in discrimination. Trajectories varied by gender and ethnicity and were significantly linked to psychological and social adjustment. Directions for future research and practice are discussed.

The Friendships of Racial–Ethnic Minority Youth in Context

An extensive theoretical and empirical literature suggests that friendships are an important, if not essential, micro-context of adolescent development—shaping youth identity, school and civic engagement, and psychological and physical wellbeing. Friendships are also themselves embedded within, and shaped by, the larger macro-context of culture (Bronfenbrenner in Am Psychol 34:844–850, 1979. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.844), including racial–ethnic stereotypes (Garcia-Coll et al. in Child Dev 67:1891–1914, 1996; Spencer in Black youth: perspectives on their status in the United States. Praeger, Westport, pp 37–69, 1995). Yet, the study of friendship rarely examines the influence of the macro-context or includes racial–ethnic minority adolescents despite the fact that half of all the youth in American schools are members of a racial-ethnic minority group. In this chapter, we review research on the friendships of racial–ethnic minority adolescents and focus specifically on how the macro-context of socialidentity-based stereotypes shapes the micro-context of friendships.