Used two path models to examine the influence of ethnic identity and intergroup contact on adolescents' attitudes toward other ethnic groups: (1) ethnic identity increases with age and predicts positive in-group attitudes which contribute to positive out-group attitudes; and (2) diversity outside school leads to more out-group interaction in…

Surveyed 46 middle- and working-class Mexican American students and 52 middle-class African American students from ethnically diverse high schools in southern California as to American identity, other-group attitudes, self-concept, anxiety, and demographic characteristics. Found varied types of identification manifested by ethnic minority…

Presents a questionnaire measure of ethnic identity based on elements of ethnic identity that are common across groups, so that it can be used across all groups. Reliability, assessed by Cronbach's alpha, was .81 for the high school sample (n=417), and .90 for the college sample (n=136). Whites scored lower in ethnic identity than members of the…

Surveyed adolescents and parents from 81 Armenian, 47 Vietnamese, and 88 Mexican families. Adolescents completed measures of ethnic language proficiency, peer social interaction, and ethnic identity, while parents completed a measure of support for cultural maintenance. Across all groups, ethnic language proficiency and in-group peer interaction…

Erikson's concept of identity has become a central focus for studying adolescent development. Identity is a psychosocial construct involving the creation of a sense of sameness and continuity, a unity of personality achieved through a process of crisis and commitment. Although culture is a factor in Erikson's theory, research on adolescent…

In order for ethnic identity to develop as a methodologically sound area of psychological research, it is essential to agree on definitions and to develop and validate measures that can be used in common by researchers working with different groups. This report analyzes 62 empirical studies of ethnic identity published in 36 journals since 1972.…

The theoretical basis of most studies of identity development is Erikson's theory, which proposes that the achievement of a personal identity is the central developmental task of adolescence. Although Erikson mentioned the role of culture, no research has examined ethnicity directly as a dimension of identity. This study examined ethnic identity…