A Person-Centered Approach to Examining Out-of-School Participation Among Black Adolescents and Its Association With...

Positive racial and ethnic identity formation is associated with psychological well-being, especially for Black adolescents. Parental socialization and school-related factors are key influences that have been studied, but less is known about other factors in an adolescent's social ecology, such as out-of-school activities. The goal of the present study was to better understand the relation between out-of-school activity (i.e., after-school hours and summer months) participation and racial and ethnic identity among Black adolescents.

Participants included Black identifying adolescents, ages 14-19 (N = 181; M age = 16.30, SD = 1.38; 69% female) recruited from the Chicagoland area of the United States. Participants completed questionnaires about out-of-school activity participation and racial and ethnic identity formation at a single timepoint. Latent class analysis was used to identify groups based on reported activity participation. Then, reported racial and ethnic identity was examined by latent class.

More out-of-school participation overall (i.e., total, types, and intensity) and school-based activity participation were significantly associated with higher reported racial and ethnic identity formation. Latent class analysis of out-of-school participation revealed that classes characterized by a higher breadth of activities reported high racial and ethnic identity, while the class characterized by low participation reported significantly lower racial and ethnic identity.

These findings suggest that out-of-school activity participation is associated with racial and ethnic identity formation among Black adolescents and the mechanisms that support this dynamic exchange warrant further investigation. As racial and ethnic identity formation is associated with well-being, these findings have strengths-based clinical, programmatic, and community implications.