Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2025

Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Adolescents' Race Consciousness Strengthens Broader Awareness of Societal Inequality
Elena Maker Castro1, Laura Wray-Lake2, Jason A Plummer3
1Department of Psychology, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, USA.
Abstract:
This study examined bidirectional changes in adolescents' awareness of inequality and race consciousness between 2017 and 2018 in the USA and whether discriminatory experiences informed developmental pathways. The sample (N = 2645; Mage = 14.6, SD = 2.14; 56.5% female; > 0.01% transgender and gender diverse) was White (35.8%), Latinx (31.4%), multiple racial and ethnic groups (13.5%), Black (7.3%), and Asian (5.2%). Race consciousness predicted changes in awareness of inequality (B = 0.31, p < 0.001); awareness of inequality did not predict changes in race consciousness. Social locations and experiences of gender and racial discrimination informed pathways. Providing adolescents with opportunities to explore race and racism may help them reflect on how society is organized in systemically inequitable ways.
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