Promoting adolescent adjustment by intervening in ethnic-racial identity development: Opportunities for developmental prevention science and considerations for a global theory of change

Abstract

Identity formation is a fundamental developmental process that has significant consequences for youth adjustment during adolescence and beyond. This article presents evidence indicating that ethnic-racial identity, specifically, is an important developmental competency on which prevention science should focus in the interest of promoting positive youth development. Findings from the initial efficacy testing of the Identity Project, an ethnic-racial identity prevention program grounded in developmental theory, are presented and discussed. Moreover, preliminary evidence of the intervention’s potential when implemented by teachers is introduced, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data from a recent study. Taking a broader perspective, future directions for research are presented with a specific focus on considering how experiences of ethnoracial marginalization and racialized othering in countries across the globe may make this work relevant to contexts outside the United States. Finally, the possibility of a global theory of change is introduced, and the potential benefits of implementing programs such as the Identity Project in other countries are discussed.

Social Determinants of Learning: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice

“…Rather, SDOL point out that the source of many differences in students' learning opportunities will be out-ofschool factors, such as systemic racism, housing (in)security, fluency in the language of instruction, air and water quality, and so forth-and that classroom teachers, schools, and school systems must therefore proactively be prepared and designed to address and mitigate these differences. These mitigations may include nutritious school meals (Anderson et al, 2018), ventilation improvements (Corsi et al, 2021), full-time staffing with qualified school nurses (Darnell et al, 2019;Yoder, 2020), implementation of culturally relevant curricula (Dee & Penner, 2017), support for students' ethnoracial identity formation (Miller-Cotto & Byrnes, 2016;Umaña-Taylor, 2023), use of Word Generation to support vocabulary and academic language acquisition (S. M. Jones et al, 2019), and, of course, hundreds of other research-supported initiatives. The point is that the SDOL framing can help counter educators' sense of impotence in the face of out-of-school impacts on students by reframing racism, classism, sexism, and so forth as active and ongoing processes that they can directly intervene in and redirect or even overcome.…”

Effects of students’ perception of teachers’ ethnic-racial socialization on students’ ethnic identity and mental health in rural China’s schools

“…Ethnic identity constitutes an integral part of young people’s social identity, particularly as adolescents build their unique sense of self ( Umaña-Taylor, 2023 ). For ethnic-racial minority individuals, ethnic identity protects them from racial discrimination and facilitates them to understand what their cultural lineage means to them ( Tajfel and Turner, 1986 ; Phinney and Ong, 2007 ), which, in turn, promotes their mental health (e.g., Rivas-Drake et al, 2014 ; Umana-Taylor et al, 2014 ).…”

“…While scholars have been focusing on the study of ethnic identity in ethnic-minority young people, there is also a growing discussion on the importance of ethnic identity for the cultural majority. For the general population, ethnic identity facilitates them to understand their role as their cultural oppressor in history, realize their racial privileges and responsibilities in society, which will contribute to their positive self-development and multicultural integration and equality in broader society ( Moffitt and Rogers, 2022 ; Umaña-Taylor, 2023 ).…”

Promoting adolescents’ cultural identity development: A pilot study of the identity project intervention in Italy.

“…decades and the sociohistorical context is characterized by a tendency toward racialized othering (Musso et al, 2018;Umaña-Taylor, 2023). A large body of research has documented that having a clear sense of ERI is linked to various positive outcomes, especially among ethnic minoritized and immigrant youth (Umaña-Taylor & Rivas-Drake, 2021).…”