Probing Change in Racial Self-identification: A Focus on Children of Immigrants

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Social Science, United States on 2015-11-08 13:39Z by Steven

Probing Change in Racial Self-identification: A Focus on Children of Immigrants

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Published online before print 2015-10-26
DOI: 10.1177/2332649215611685

Thomas J. Mowen, Assistant Professor
Department of Criminal Justice
University of Wyoming

Richard Stansfield, Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice
Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, Camden

Recent studies have shown that racial identification varies across context and time. Although sociologists recognize many contextual factors associated with racial group membership, relatively little attention has been given to understanding the specific factors—such as self-perceptions, socioeconomic incentives, and family pressures—that relate to changes in racial self-identification, especially among children of immigrants individuals who may have a relatively high propensity for inconsistency in racial identification. Using two waves of data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study and guided by social identity theory, the authors seek to (1) explore the prevalence of changes in racial self-identification over time within this sample and (2) understand the mechanisms that may contribute to changes in self-identification. The results indicate that self-esteem, self-worth, and family cohesion are related to an individual’s reporting a change in racial identification between waves. Socioeconomic status and depression are not related to changes in racial identification.

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