An Examination of Ethnic-Racial Identity and U.S. American Identity among Black, Latino, and White Adolescents

In the United States (U.S.), adolescent identity development occurs within a socio-historical context characterized by an ethnic-racial hierarchy, as well as an unequal distribution of power and privilege. The current study examined the associations among two ethnic-racial identity components (i.e., exploration, resolution), perceived ethnic-racial discrimination, and U.S. American identity among White, Black, and Latino adolescents in the U.S. A cross-sectional sample of self-identified White, Black, and Latino adolescents (N = 1,378) completed self-administered surveys (M _age = 16.16 years; SD = 1.12, 52.8% female). A sequential model-building approach using multiple-group path analysis revealed that both exploration and resolution were positively associated with U.S. American for White and Black adolescents, but no association emerged for Latino adolescents. Furthermore, among Black adolescents, the association between exploration and U.S. American identity was moderated by perceived ethnic-racial discrimination, such that these two identity dimensions were positively associated only among those who reported higher levels of discrimination. Overall, ethnic-racial identity and U.S. American identity were more strongly associated among White and Black adolescents compared to Latino adolescents. Future research is needed to better understand the intersections between ethnic-racial identity and U.S. American identity.