Examining college students’ multiple social identities of gender, race, and socioeconomic status: Implications for intergroup and social justice attitudes.

Abstract

The negotiation of multiple social identities (e.g., race, gender, and socioeconomic status) is relevant to emerging adults in their first year of college, with important implications for their social attitudes and subsequent intergroup interactions and behaviors (Arnett, 2000;Jones & Abes, 2013). Social identity scholarship acknowledges that individuals hold multiple social identities simultaneously, but relatively little research examines individuals' identification with multiple social identities or implications for their social attitudes. The current study used latent class cluster analysis to examine variation in patterns of identity centrality across gender, racial, and social class identities among a diverse college student sample (N ϭ 887) attending a predominantly White university. Five cluster groups were distinguished (all average, all low, all high, high-race/low-SES, and high-gender/low-SES importance). Cluster membership related to participants' self-identified gender, racial, and social class categories. Cluster groups also varied in social-identity-related attitudes, with the all-high-importance cluster (high centrality across social identities) showing higher sexism, racism, and classism consciousness scores and more positive intergroup and social justice action attitudes than all-low-importance or all-average-importance clusters, and showing similarities and differences in attitudes compared with those for whom a single identity was most central. Implications of findings for identity theory and supporting identity development in higher education are discussed.

“You never feel so Black as when you're contrasted against a White background”: Black students' experiences at a predominantly White institution in the UK

“…More directly relevant to this paper, research in the US shows that Black students in elite (mostly White) higher education institutions are subject to differential and more hostile treatment on campus (Harper et al, 2011; Smith, Allen, & Danley, 2007). Such treatment would be expected to render Black identity salient and, indeed, there is support for this in a study by Graham‐Bailey et al (2019) who asked students to list and rate the importance of multiple social identities (gender, race, and social economic status). They found, in common with Ashmore's (2004) research, that marginalised identities (women, ethnic minorities, working class) were rated as highly important and privileged identities (men, White, middle class) were rated as less important.…”

“…Perceiver readiness reflects a person's cognitions (including past experiences, motivations, goals, needs, and expectations); for instance, a person who frequently categorises based on their gender identity is more likely to categorise this way in new contexts. Research has shown that marginalised groups (e.g., women and ethnic minorities) are readier to categorise based on their marginalised social identities (Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin‐Volpe, 2004; Graham‐Bailey, Richardson Cheeks, Blankenship, Stewart, & Chavous, 2019).…”

The Effect of Organizational Innovation Through Self-Concept on the Performance of Senior High School Teachers in Kendari City

“…Self-concept can then be influenced by differences ranging from race, skin, environment, descent and others. As noted by Graham-Bailey, Richardson Cheeks, Blankenship, Stewart, & Chavous (2019) that minority racial groups and low socioeconomic groups tend to have low self-concepts. Hence, this has the effect of pressure and also various problems towards them compared to the majority racial group and high socioeconomic group.…”

Racial Identity Development on the Margins: The Narratives of Black Women College Students with Experiences in the Foster Care System

“…While this research broadly illustrated the importance of a supportive college environment for primarily theorized in the field of psychology (Cross, 1971(Cross, , 1991Helms, 1990;1994;Sellers et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 2011), and this foundational work has commonly expressed that the ways Black people define what their racial group membership means to them is an important step in their racial identity development (Scottham et al, 2008). Identity development scholars are increasingly highlighting the importance of racial identity processes in the college context as relevant to the academic and psychological adjustment of Black students (Lockett & Harrell, 2003;Chavous et al, 2018;Graham-Bailey et al, 2019). Early work on racial identity development has been theorized on a single axis framework solely focusing on race, and these models of racial/ethnic identity suggest that individuals move across linear stages of development from having naïve beliefs about their racial group status to developing racial consciousness and a sense of pride in history, heritage, and group membership (Cross, 1971(Cross, , 1991Helms, 1990;1994;Sellers et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 2011).…”

“…Early work on racial identity development has been theorized on a single axis framework solely focusing on race, and these models of racial/ethnic identity suggest that individuals move across linear stages of development from having naïve beliefs about their racial group status to developing racial consciousness and a sense of pride in history, heritage, and group membership (Cross, 1971(Cross, , 1991Helms, 1990;1994;Sellers et al, 1998;Thomas et al, 2011). While there is no consensus on the ways to research the development of racial identity in higher education, racial identity development is important to explore within a higher education context, because college is a time period characterized by change, instability, an exploration of possibilities in academic and social domains, and college is a time characterized by a continuing process of personal identity exploration Chavous et al, 2018;Graham-Bailey et al, 2019).…”