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Ethnic Socialization, Family Cohesion, and Ethnic Identity Development Over Time among Latinx Adolescents

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Abstract

Family socialization of one’s ethnic culture is essential for ethnic identity development among Latinx adolescents. However, less is known about how the likely changes in family interaction that transpire during adolescence may impact this socialization process. A three-year longitudinal study of 148 Latinx adolescents (ages 13-14; 53% females) examined how changes in youth’s family ethnic socialization experiences and sense of family cohesion were related to two dimensions of their ethnic identity development (i.e., exploration and resolution). Youth’s family ethnic socialization experiences and sense of family cohesion remained stable, while their exploration and resolution increased across three years. More ethnic socialization experiences at Wave 1 predicted higher initial levels and stability of ethnic identity exploration over time. However, more ethnic socialization at Wave 1 predicted higher initial levels of resolution and predicted less resolution development as youth progressed through adolescence. Among youth who perceived less ethnic socialization, a greater sense of family cohesion was associated with more initial exploration; this compensatory effect was only present at Wave 1. These results illustrate how distinct aspects of the family context uniquely and interactively inform ethnic identity exploration and resolution development.

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Authors’ Contributions

K.C. conceived of the research question, conducted the statistical analysis, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript; F.C., M.M., and D.R.D. designed and executed the survey; K.C. and M.M. prepared data for statistical analysis; K.C., M.M., and D.R.D. conducted statistical analysis and interpreted study results. All authors assisted in study conceptualization and writing; All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by discretionary funds of the PI, DRD.

Data Sharing and Declaration

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Kevin Constante, Michael Medina & Deborah Rivas-Drake

  2. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Fernanda L. Cross

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  1. Kevin Constante
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  2. Fernanda L. Cross
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  4. Deborah Rivas-Drake
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Correspondence to Kevin Constante.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Michigan Health Science and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (HUM#00083246) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained by the parent of adolescent participants in the study, and inform assent was obtain by each adolescent participant.

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Constante, K., Cross, F.L., Medina, M. et al. Ethnic Socialization, Family Cohesion, and Ethnic Identity Development Over Time among Latinx Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 49, 895–906 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01139-3

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