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Identification with Multiple Groups in Multiethnic Middle Schools: What Predicts Social Ingroup Overlap?

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Self-definition becomes a central task during early adolescence, as youth identify with multiple social groups. Focusing on ethnic identification and identification with other salient social ingroups (e.g., those based on extracurricular activities), we examined predictors of perceived ingroup membership overlap among ethnically diverse adolescents (n = 1264; M age = 12.51; 53 % female). Social ingroup overlap remained relatively stable, but decreased, across the seventh to eighth grade. The number of cross-ethnic classmates in seventh grade predicted lower overlap in the eighth grade, and cross-ethnic friendships by eighth grade mediated this association. Findings underscore the opportunities provided by multiethnic middle schools for youth to connect and befriend one another across ethnic lines, as well as to foster divergent social identities that are associated with positive intergroup attitudes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the UCLA Middle School Diversity Project for their assistance with data collection, as well as Sandra Graham, Leah Lessard, Hannah Schacter, and Danielle Smith for their comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (Grant 1R01HD059882-01A2) and the National Science Foundation (No. 0921306).

Author Contributions

CK conceived of the current study, participated in its design, conducted the main analyses, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. AB conceived of the current study, participated in its design, analyses, and interpretation of the data, as well as contributed to the write-up of the manuscript. As the co-principal investigator of the larger UCLA MSDP Project, JJ participated in the study design and interpretation of the data, as well as contributed to the write-up of the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819-6007, USA

    Casey A. Knifsend

  2. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1563, USA

    Ariana N. Bell & Jaana Juvonen

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  1. Casey A. Knifsend
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  2. Ariana N. Bell
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Correspondence to Casey A. Knifsend.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Knifsend, C.A., Bell, A.N. & Juvonen, J. Identification with Multiple Groups in Multiethnic Middle Schools: What Predicts Social Ingroup Overlap?. J Youth Adolescence 46, 317–327 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0535-x

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