Parallel Ethnic Identity Development of Mexican-Origin Adolescents and Mothers Under the Influence of Neighborhood Latinx Concentration and Ethnic-Racial Diversity

ABSTRACT

Co-ethnic or ethnically-racially diverse neighborhoods can serve as safe and supportive places for U.S. immigrant families to explore and develop clarity about their ethnic identity. Although parents undergo concurrent changes in the adaptation process with their children, existing research has predominantly focused on adolescents, with fewer examination on adult parents’ continued ethnic identity development; additionally, researchers also overlook the impact of neighborhood context on ethnic identity in parents. To fill this gap, this registered study used a three-wave longitudinal dataset of 595 Mexican-origin adolescents and their mothers in central Texas. Latent growth models were used to estimate how ethnic identity (i.e. exploration, centrality, and resolution) changed across time in mother – adolescent dyads. Our findings indicated some level of connectedness in the development of family members’ ethnic identities, particularly in terms of exploration. We also found that mothers’ ethnic identity development was shaped by their neighborhood contexts, with those residing in more diverse neighborhoods being less likely to explore their ethnic identities. Results inform prevention and intervention efforts to promote family collaboration and help immigrant family members develop a positive sense of ethnic identity in the adaptation process.

KEYWORDS:

• Neighborhoods
• ethnic identity
• ethnic-racial diversity
• adolescent-mother dyads
• Mexican-origin

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2024.2334708

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported through awards to Su Yeong Kim from (1) National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, 1651128 and 0956123, (2) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities 1R21MD012706-01A1 and 3R21MD-012706-02S1, (3) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 5R03HD060045-02, (4) Russell Sage Foundation, 2699, (5) Spencer Foundation, 10023427, (6) Hogg Foundation for Mental Health JRG-102, (7) Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Grant and Special Research Grant from the University of Texas at Austin, (8) College of Natural Sciences Catalyst Grant from the University of Texas at Austin, and (9) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 5P2CHD042849-20 grant awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.