The Role of Racial Composition and Context in Racial Identity Among Black Adolescents

Date
2022-08-11
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Abstract

How does racial composition matter to racial identity? As racial diversity in the United States increases and racism persists, racial identity remains significant for the well-being of Black adolescents. Exposure to same-race peers and populations remains a significant feature of spaces that support Black identities, however, the role of concentration of Black populations on the Black adolescents’ affinity with their race has rarely been assessed. It is important to consider how Black adolescents’ racial identities are shaped by the racial composition of various contexts they experience. This paper takes a multi-level approach with a focus on racial demographics at the city and classroom levels to explore their role in shaping Black adolescents’ racial identities. This work explores two dimensions of racial identity– racial identity centrality and private regard. Data used for this study (n=1,050) comes from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplements (NSAL-A) and Summary Files of the 2000 US Census (U.S. Census Bureau 2001). Ordinary least squares models were estimated to determine the association between exposure to same-race peers and Black adolescents’ levels of racial identity centrality and private regard. Findings reveal that the effect of racial concentration on identity differs depending on the dimension of identity being assessed. Living in metropolitan areas with larger Black populations coincides with identifying more strongly with one’s race (centrality), however, exposure to same-race peers in the classroom did not significantly affect racial centrality. Differently, evaluations of one’s racial group (private regard) are positively associated with exposure to same-race peers at the classroom level, but racial concentration at the city level had no statistical effect on private regard. The findings reinforce the notion that Black spaces nurture Black identities. However, the associations depend on the dimension of racial identity and the level at which it is assessed (macro, meso, micro).

Description
EMBARGO NOTE: This item is embargoed until 2024-08-01
Degree
Master of Arts
Type
Thesis
Keywords
race, racial identity, demographics
Citation

Carroll, Michael Alden. "The Role of Racial Composition and Context in Racial Identity Among Black Adolescents." (2022) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113287.

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