Two components of ethnic identity were assessed--group-esteem was found to rise for both early and middle adolescents; exploration rose for middle adolescents. African Americans and Latino Americans were lower in group-esteem but have greater increases than European Americans, particularly across a school transition.
Jean Phinney developed a model of Ethnic Identity based on Erikson’s theory of development, following Marcia’s ego-identity theory (please read Shaun Diehl’s summary) and other models of ethnic identity, and applied it among high school and college students from a diverse ethnic background born in America (Bernal & Knight, 1993).
Identity development, the growth of a strong and stable sense of self across a range of identity dimensions, is central to adolescent development [1]. While we have many types of identities (religious, cultural, and national, to name a few), ethnic and racial identities are an important part of how we see ourselves and how others see us.
Ethnic identity may play a larger role among minority youth because they experience the contrasting and dominant culture of the majority ethnic group. Youth who belong to the majority ethnic culture may not even recognize or acknowledge their ethnic identity [2].