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Identification with Multiple Groups in Multiethnic Middle Schools: What Predicts Social Ingroup Overlap?
Casey A Knifsend1, Ariana N Bell2, Jaana Juvonen2
1Department of Psychology, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819-6007, USA. casey.knifsend@csus.edu.
Adolescents navigate multiple social identities, including ethnic ones. Increased cross-ethnic friendships in diverse schools can lead to greater social identity overlap and positive intergroup attitudes.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Adolescent Development
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period for self-definition and social identity formation.
- Youth increasingly identify with multiple social groups, including ethnic and activity-based ingroups.
- Understanding the interplay of these identities is crucial for adolescent social development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine predictors of perceived ingroup membership overlap among ethnically diverse adolescents.
- To investigate how ethnic identification and other social ingroup identifications interact.
- To analyze changes in social ingroup overlap from seventh to eighth grade.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 1264 ethnically diverse adolescents (mean age 12.51).
- Data collected across seventh and eighth grades.
- Examined perceived ingroup membership overlap, number of cross-ethnic classmates, and cross-ethnic friendships.
Main Results:
- Social ingroup overlap remained stable but decreased across seventh and eighth grades.
- A higher number of cross-ethnic classmates in seventh grade predicted lower ingroup overlap in eighth grade.
- Cross-ethnic friendships in eighth grade mediated the association between cross-ethnic classmates and ingroup overlap.
Conclusions:
- Multiethnic middle schools offer opportunities for cross-ethnic connections and friendships.
- Fostering cross-ethnic friendships can lead to divergent social identities.
- Divergent social identities are associated with positive intergroup attitudes.
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