Mental Health Practice with Children and Youth by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2022-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Adolescent Ethnic and Racial Identity

Identity formation in adolescence is an expected developmental hurdle, yet it can be more challenging for children who belong to a minority culture. Minority youth may assume a negative identity if they accept the stereotypes put upon them by members of dominant groups as well as their own ethnic group (Erikson, 1968). Marcia (1980) states that successful identity formation is achieved when one explores his or her ethnic identity and then commits to it. Minority adolescents need to feel a sense of self-satisfaction in order to feel good about themselves within the context of their ethnic group and society. Phinney and Alipura (1992) found that nonwhite children who have seriously examined their ethnic identity and its implications have a better self-image than do those who have not resolved these issues.

Adolescents who experience ongoing bicultural conflict may have difficulty managing dual skills and thus get “caught or stuck in a transitional state” (Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda, 1998). This may lead to a state of transitional marginality, which Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda (1998) describe as a state involving acculturation stress brought about by competing interests, values, and behavioral choices in the social situation, “accompanied by emotional discomfort and cognitive dissonance experienced by the individual” (p. 137). Ethnic minority children are much more affected by transitional states as they attempt to master the transition to adulthood, as well as forming their ethnic identity in the midst of the transition to a bicultural identity as an adolescent. However, adolescents generally resolve transitional marginality as they develop an ego-syntonic identity and behaviors that meet with social approval (Robbins, Chatterjee, and Canda, 1998).

Ethnic and racial group identity among adolescents is even more important at this time in history, as America's population is becoming increasingly multicultural, multiracial, and multilingual. Almost one-third of the adolescents in the United States belong to an ethnic group, such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Jewish Americans and American Indians (Phinney, 1990). Ethnic identity formation has been divided into three phases, in which youngsters begin to identify with and appreciate their ethnic heritage. Phase one generally involves the belief that ethnic identity is not an important personal issue. In the second phase, young people begin to explore the personal impact of their ethnic heritage in an effort to learn more about themselves and their culture. In the final phase, these young people achieve a distinct self-concept, which combines that of their ethnic group and U.S. culture (Phinney, 1989).

A major component of self-concept comes from what other people tell us about ourselves (Uba and Huang, 1999). Minority adolescents seem to be more concerned with racial and ethnic identity than European-American adolescents are, largely due to racism, oppression, and social injustice in their everyday lives. Some ethnic and racial groups seem to be more at risk than others. For instance, Hispanic females are twice as likely as African-American and non-Hispanic white females to attempt suicide (CDC, 1996). This phenomenon is thought to be related to factors such as low self-image

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