Invisibility of Racial/Ethnic Minorities in Developmental Science: Implications for Research and Institutional Practices

Abstract

García Coll and colleagues’ (1996) integrative model was a landmark paper for developmental science, and psychology more broadly, in outlining the multitude of social and cultural factors at play when seeking to understand the development of racial/ethnic minority children. The time is ripe to not only take stock of those advances, but also to evaluate the integrative model in the context of present-day research practice within developmental psychology, and psychology more broadly. The purpose of this article is to bring a systemic perspective to developmental science through a discussion of current practices in the field. To do so, we examine invisibility, or how dominant practices serve to overlook, silence, or dismiss knowledge produced by and for racial/ethnic minority populations. Guided by the interpretive framework of intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) we discuss three key questions: From whose vantage point is research conducted? What types of questions are valued? And who gets left out? We then conclude with recommendations for changes in practices for individuals, institutions, and the field at large. Importantly, whereas our analysis is largely grounded in research and practices in developmental psychology, it is also highly relevant to psychological science as a whole.

Diversity (Psychological) Science Training: Challenges, Tensions, and a Call to Action

“…Another resource and critical read for faculty and students alike is Guthrie (), which chronicles how scientific racism contributed to deficit conceptualizations of Blacks and was used to justify racism and oppression. Finally, I have increasingly introduced my students to intersectional frameworks (Moradi & Grzanka, ; Shin et al., ; Syed, Santos, Yoo, & Juang, ) and strategies as a critical lens that they can employ to evaluate and critique how multiple systems of oppression and privilege influence our understanding of psychological science concepts. As a policy initiative, I wonder if incentivizing (e.g., a salary supplement or linking diversity training efforts to merit raises) self‐education and completion of training in using these methods—and the actual use of the methods themselves—could increase the likelihood that these techniques might be employed more systemically.…”

Why Developmental Researchers Should Care About Biracial, Multiracial, and Multiethnic Youth

“…As a first step in including multiracial youth in developmental research, we recommend that developmental researchers report multiracial youth within their sample demographics. In general, racial/ethnic‐minority youth are understudied (Syed, Santos, Yoo, & Juang, ), as are multiracial youth (Seaton et al, ). In examining 63 articles in Child Development between 2008 and 2018 that focused on ethnicity (excluding those focused on a single group or a subset of groups when the larger sample was not described), multiracial youth were often grouped with other either explicitly or implicitly (24%) or not mentioned at all (30%).…”

Integrating an Intersectionality Lens in Theory and Research in Developmental Science

“…For example, this framework is commonly used to assess how interpersonal experiences of, for example, discrimination contribute to the well‐documented health, academic, and developmental disparities that exist for groups of young people who belong to groups that are marginalized in the larger society (Cabrera & The SRCD Ethnic and Racial Issues Committee, ). While it is important to understand how development occurs within these microsystems and beyond, traditional frameworks in developmental science often emphasize universality, thereby neglecting the considerable within‐group heterogeneity that exists, and lack emphasis on the structural oppressions that shape daily interactions and perpetuate inequities (Syed, Santos, Yoo, & Juang, in press). Further, these contexts of development are typically treated in a static fashion, at times void of attention to power dynamics within society such as issues concerning access to safety and health care, issues affecting those who are undocumented, to name a few.…”