Ethnic-Racial Identity in Action: Structure and Content of Friends’ Conversations about Ethnicity and Race

Abstract

Among emerging adults, peers are central to ethnic-racial identity (ERI) exploration, acting as primary interlocuters in discussions about ethnicity and race. Although ERI development is understood as adaptive, particularly for young people of color, ethnicity and race related conversations are often highly charged, and can consist of both positive, self-affirming exchanges, as well as negative experiences of identity denial, disinterest, and discrimination. The valence of such conversations, and their role in ERI development, may relate both to what is being said and how the conversation is structured. The current study examines in vivo, unguided conversations between 36 friend pairs coded for mention of ethnicity and race (N = 64 individuals; 56% women, 75% born in the U.S., M age = 20.54, SD = 2.73; ethnic composition: n = 11 ethnic-racial minority (EM)-EM , n = 14 EM-White, n = 9 White-White). Based on a twostep qualitative analysis, we found wide variation in conversation content and structure. Despite no differences in the length of ethnicity and race related discussion, the types of stories told were shaped starkly by ethnic-racial inequality, discrimination, and the largely segregated experiences of White students. We discuss our findings in light of the little investigated link between ERI exploration and maladaptive psychosocial outcomes.

Cognitive scripts and narrative identity are shaped by structures of power

“…Goals for sharing, the types of details that are shared and not shared, and the 9 responses of listeners all relate directly to cultural values and expectations, as well as the location of participants in a societal structure. For example, in a study of conversations between friends about ethnicityrelated experiences, the nature of what was recalled differed depending on whether the pair was White, non-White, or mixed [44]. In mixed dyads, non-White friends took on the burden of educating their White friends about racism, which the authors called a "taxing" position.…”

Ethnic-Racial Identity as a Source of Resilience and Resistance in the Context of Racism and Xenophobia

“…Over time, we engage in exploration of our ethnicracial group identities through various means: searching for, questioning, and learning about our background, history, traditions, and language (Phinney & Ong, 2007;Umaña-Taylor & Fine, 2004). Such exploration occurs through behaviors such as attending cultural events, engaging in discussions with same-ethnic peers and friends (Moffitt & Syed, 2021;Rivas-Drake et al, 2017;Schwarzenthal et al, 2019;Vietze et al, 2019;Wang & Benner, 2016) and family members (Hughes et al, 2006;Huguley, Wang, Guo, & Vasquez, 2019;Priest et al, 2014;Umaña-Taylor & Hill, 2020). Individuals from other ethnic, racial, or cultural groups are also part of the process by providing or setting boundaries and interpretations of one's group, both positive and negative.…”

Exploring Exploration: Identity Exploration in Real-Time Interactions among Peers

“…Three prior narrative studies focused on real-time interactions among peers related to adolescent and young adult identity formation (McLean & Jennings, 2012;Moffitt & Syed, 2020;Morgan & Korobov, 2012). These studies examined how youth structured conversations about identity-related issues and co-constructed their identities.…”

“…These studies examined how youth structured conversations about identity-related issues and co-constructed their identities. For instance, one study on ethnic-racial identity examined the themes that appeared in the content (topics) and structure (length and depth) of conversation between young adult peers (Moffitt & Syed, 2020). Two further studies, one on narrative identity (McLean & Jennings, 2012) and one on dating identity (Morgan & Korobov, 2012), described how adolescents and young adults facilitated their peers' identity formation through actions such as scaffolding, providing a safe space, and support.…”