AfricanAmerican Ethnic Identity: Risk and Resilience

1
African-American Ethnic Identity Risk and
Resilience

• Kerstin Youman
• George Mason University
• February 22, 2006

2
Overview

• What is ethnic identity?
• Theories of ethnic identity development
• Assessment of ethnic identity
• Ethnic identity as a resilience factor
• Ethnic identity as a risk factor
• Conclusions

3
What is Ethnic Identity?

• the dimension of a persons social identity and
  self-concept that derives from knowledge, values,
  attitudes, the sense of belonging, and the
  emotional significance associated with membership
  in a particular ethnic group (Gay, 1994, pg.
  151)
• the significance and qualitative meaning that
  individuals attribute to their membership within
  the Black racial group within their
  self-concepts (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, 1998,
  pg. 23)

4
Why is Ethnic Identity Important?

• A clarified ethnic identity is central to the
  psycho-social well-being and educational success
  of youth of color (Gay, 1978 Maldonado, 1975
  Phinney, 1989 Phinney Traver, 1988) Gay,
  1994, pg. 151)
• AA youth must function in a triple quandary of
  mainstream society, African-rooted culture and as
  historically oppressed minority (Boykin, 1986)

5
Theories of Ethnic Identity Acculturation

• Social Identity Theory
• Group membership enhances sense of well-being
  unless group is held in low-regard by dominant
  group
• Pass for member of dominant group
• Reinterpret inferior qualities and make
  non-inferior
• Stress distinctiveness of group
• Acculturation Theory
• Relation between two groups in one society
• Degree of identification with both groups
• Integration strongly identifies with both
  groups
• Marginality identifies with neither group
• Assimilation identifies only with dominant
  culture
• Separation identifies only with minority
  culture
• (Phinney, 1990)

6
Theories of Ethnic Identity -Development

• Identify Formation/Stage Theory
• Ethnic identity is dynamic and developmental
• Cross Model of Nigrescence
• Stage 1 Pre-encounter Assimilation,
  Mis-education or Self-Hatred
• Stage 2 Encounter Significant event that forces
  awareness of ethnicity/minority status
• Stage 3 Immersion-Emersion Anti-white, Intense
  Black Involvement
• Stage 4 Internalization Biculturalist,
  Multiculturalist, Black Nationalist Pride in
  ethnic culture with acceptance of other
• (Worrell, Cross, Vandiver , 2001)

7
Theories of Ethnic Identity -Dimensions

• Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity
• Assumptions
• Both situationally influenced and stable within
  person
• Multiple identities hierarchically ordered (race,
  gender, occupation)
• Emphasizes individuals construction of own
  identity without value judgments
• Focuses on status at given point in time
• (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, 1998)

8
Theories of Ethnic Identity -Dimensions

• Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity
• Dimensions
• Salience extent race is part of self-concept in
  particular context
• Centrality stable normative extent of race as
  part of self-concept or where race is in
  hierarchy of identities
• Regard attitude about own race on
  positive-negative scale, private is how
  individual views AAs and public is how they think
  others view AAs
• Ideology beliefs about how members of group
  should act
• Nationalist stresses uniqueness of being black
• Oppressed minority identifies with oppression
  seen in other groups
• Assimilation emphasizes similarities between
  blacks and all Americans
• Humanist - stresses commonalities with all
  humans
• (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley Chavous, 1998)

9
Assessment of Ethnic Identity

• Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (RIAS)
• Based on Cross Theory of Psychological
  Nigrescence (Cross, 1971, 1978, 1995)
• This 30 item (RIAS B) 50 item (RIAS )
  self-report measure takes approximately 15
  minutes to administer and is appropriate for
  individuals with a ninth grade reading level.
• A critical assessment of the RIAS measures places
  the series in the top tier of nomothetic identity
  assessment instruments based on the psychometric
  properties of the scale (Kohatsu Richardson,
  1996).

10
Assessment of Ethnic Identity

• Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity
  (MIBI Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley
  Chavous, 1998)
• A 48 item measure based on the Multidimensional
  Model of Racial Identity (MMRI Sellers, Rowley,
  Chavous, Shelton, Smith, 1997)
• Preliminary analyses suggest that the MIBI is a
  valid and reliable measure of the MMRI (Sellers,
  Rowley, Chavous, Shelton, Smith, 1997).

11
Ethnic Identity as a Risk Factor

• Psychological Adjustment
• Lower developmental stages of identity associated
  with lower self-esteem, feelings of inferiority
  and anxiety (Pre-encounter Immersion) (Phinney
  Alipuria, 1990 Parham Helms, 1985)
• High racial centrality is associated with higher
  perceived discrimination (Sellers Shelton, 2003)

12
Ethnic Identity as a Risk Factor

• Academic Achievement
• Pre-encounter and Immersion scores were
  negatively related to achievement test scores and
  GPA (Sandoval, Gutkin, Naumann, 1997)
• Assimilation and nationalist ideologies
  negatively associated with GPA for college
  students who scored high on racial centrality
  (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, 1988)

13
Ethnic Identity as a Risk Factor

• Violence
• Racial discrimination is correlated with violence
• For young adult African-Americans high in public
  regard, racial discrimination is associated with
  more violence
• The authors attributed this to cognitive
  dissonance between ideal of high regard and
  reality of discrimination
• (Caldwell, Kohn-Wood, Schmeelk-Cone, 2004).

14
Ethnic Identity as a Resilience Factor

• Psychological Adjustment
• Encounter stage related to higher self-esteem,
  self-reliance and present orientation (Parham
  Helms, 1985a,1985b)
• If racial centrality is high there is a positive
  relationship between private regard and
  self-esteem (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, 1998)
• Higher nationalism associated with lower distress
  when perceived discrimination is high (Sellers
  Shelton, 2003)
• Lower public regard associated with lower
  distress when perceived discrimination is high
  (Sellers Shelton, 2003)

15
Ethnic Identity as a Resilience Factor

• Academic Achievement
• Minority ideology was positively associated with
  GPA for college students who scored high on
  racial centrality (Sellers, Smith, Shelton,
  1988)
• Internalization scores positively related to
  Cumulative GPA in high school students (Sandoval,
  Gutkin, Naumann, 1997)

16
Ethnic Identity as a Resilience Factor

• Violence
• For African-American males low in centrality,
  racial discrimination is associated with more
  violence, but high centrality buffers the effects
  of discrimination on violence (Caldwell,
  Kohn-Wood, Schmeelk-Cone, 2004).

17
Ethnic Identity as a Resilience Factor

• Substance Use
• Ethnic identity variables explained 7 of the
  variance in drug stage and were inversely related
  to drug stage (Brook, Pahl, 2005)
• Aspects of ethnic identity or Afro-centric
  orientation buffered risk factors or enhanced
  protective factors for drug use (Brook, Pahl,
  2005)
• Private regard associated with less self-report
  alcohol use for adolescents with higher levels of
  racial centrality but effect size was small
  (Caldwell, Sellers, Bernat, Zimmerman, 2004)

18
Ethnic Identity as a Resilience Factor

• Identity based Resilience Programs
• Africentric Youth and Family Rites of Passage
  Program Promoting Resilience among At-Risk
  African American Youths (Aminifu, H. R. Hill, R.
  B., 2004) 
• Increased self-esteem and drug awareness
• NTU An Africentric approach to substance abuse
  prevention among African American youth. (Cherry,
  Belgrave, Jones, 1998)
• Significant program effects for protective
  factors including racial identity, knowledge of
  African culture, self-esteem, and school
  behaviors
• Eudaimonic Well-Being
• Minority status is a positive predictor of
  Eudaimonic Well-Being, but ethnic identity not
  assessed (Ryff, Keyes,   Hughes, 2003)

19
Conclusions

• Ethnic Identity is an important individual
  difference variable that can be used to capture
  within group variability among African-Americans.
• Different stages or dimensions of Ethnic Identity
  can serve as either risk or resilience factors
  depending on context and domain assessed.
• From a stage perspective the Pre-Encounter and
  Immersion/Emersion stages tend to lead to more
  negative outcomes, whereas the Encounter or
  Internalization stages are more strongly
  associated with positive outcomes.
• From a dimensional perspective, centrality of
  race is frequently found to be a moderator of
  risk or resilience.

20
African-American Ethnic Identity Risk and
Resilience

• What is ethnic identity?
• Why is ethnic identity important?
• Theories of ethnic identity development
• Social Identity Theory
• Acculturation Theory
• Identify Formation/Stage Theory
• Multidimensional Theory
• Assessment of ethnic identity
• RIAS
• MIBI
• Ethnic identity as a risk factor
• Psychological Adjustment
• Academic Achievement
• Violence
• Ethnic identity as a resilience factor
• Psychological Adjustment
• Academic Achievement
• Violence
• Substance Use