EPET Brown Bag Series (10/29/18) - Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D., Getting Below the Surface: Ethnic-Racial Identity and Peer Contexts

Post date: Oct 29, 2018 12:39:56 PM

DR. DEBORAH RIVAS-DRAKE

Getting Below the Surface: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in Youth

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is an important developmental concern with implications for psychological and academic adjustment. In this talk, I consider the role of the socio-emotional context of school-ing--which includes the nature and quality of relationships with adults and peers--in the development of ERI. As an initial step toward under-standing this issue, we examined the role of friends in diverse youths' ERI development. Specifically, we examined the extent to which youth formed friendships with peers based on similarity in ERI (selection) and/or whether youths' ERI became more similar to that of their friends over time (socialization). I will also discuss preliminary evidence regarding the role of social-emotional learning practices in the development of ERI and the potential mediating role of peer social competen-cies in the link between ERI and school outcomes.