Especially in major centers, the majority of at-risk adolescents are Latino and African-American youth (Yanvey, 1992). Yancey (1992) examined identity development among ethnic minority adolescents in the foster care system. This researcher explained how the occurrence of societal problems, such as unintentional pregnancy, childbearing, substance abuse, underachievement, discontinuation of education at an early point, homelessness, and dependency on social service and mental health resources was disproportionately pronounced among ethnic minorities. In regards to ethnic minority youth in the foster care system, Yancey (1992; p.819) "postulated that their social maladaptation is reflective of identity disturbances created by the negative images of African-Americans and Latinos perpetuated by the dominant society and unfiltered by optimal parental racial socialization." This statement expresses the profound influence that society's attitudes can have on the identity development of ethnic adolescents, and indicates a direction in which interventions could improve the racial socialization practices among parents.

The effect that parents have on the identity development of Latino and African-American adolescents was investigated by Hughes (2003). Two dimensions of racial socialization, cultural socialization and preparation for bias, were examined. Results indicated no significant differences between the ethnic groups with regard to frequency of cultural socialization, but African-American parent were found to report more frequent preparation for bias. These findings may indicate that African-American adolescents may have expectations for discrimination embedded in their identity development due to their racial socialization by their parents (Hughes, 2003).

The influence of ethnic identity on drug use among ethnic minority adolescents was examined by James et al. (2000). The findings of the study indicated that white adolescents scored lower in ethnic identity than African-American and Hispanic adolescents. However, high levels of ethnic identity were associated with heavy drug use. Furthermore, substance abuse is related to higher levels of ethnic identity, which is apparent among Hispanic and African-American adolescents more so than white adolescents....

It may be beneficial for teachers and clinicians to develop substance abuse education and prevention initiatives that focus on these highly ethnic identified groups/
How does identity development among Hispanic and African-American adolescents influence attitudes towards other ethnic groups? Negy et al. (2003) demonstrated that levels of ethnic identity were significantly correlated with ethnocentrism levels among Hispanics and Whites. These findings are consistent with social identity theory, which proposes that the more strongly individuals identify with their own group, the less favorable are their attitudes toward groups that are different from them (Negy et al., 2003). African-Americans, although demonstrating higher ethnic identity scores and self-esteem scores than the other groups, did not show significantly correlated levels of ethnic identity and ethnocentrism (Negy et al., 2003). This diversity in findings among ethnic groups warrants further research.

Reference

Allison, B. (2001). Interpersonal identity formation during early adolescence. Adolescence, 36, 509-23.

Greig, R. (2003). Ethnic identity development: implications for mental health in African-American and Hispanic adolescents. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 24(3), 317-31.

Hughes, D. (2003). Correlates of African-American and Latino parents' messages to children about ethnicity and race: a comparative study of racial socialization. American Journal of community Psychology, 31(1-2), 15-33.

James, W., Kim, G., Armijo, E. (2000). The influence of ethnic identityon drug use among ethnic minority adolescents. Journal of Drug Education, 30(3), 265-80.

Negy, C., Shreve, T., Jensen, B., Uddin, N. (2003). Ethnic identity, self-esteem, and ethnocentrism: a study of social identity vs. multicultural theory of development. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(4), 333-44.

Rotheram-Borus, M. (1989). Ethnic differences in adolescents' identity status and associated behavior problems. Journal of Adolescence, 12(4), 361-74.

Torres, V. (2004). Influences on ethnic identity development of Latino college students in the first two years of college. Journal of College Student…