The underlying purpose of this proposal is (1) to identify ethnic profiles (empirically-based implicit behavioral patterns) that distinguish three ethnic groups: Hispanic-, Black-, and White-Americans, (2) to develop a measure that will provide clear operational definitions and allow precise assessments of adolescent ethnic identity, inter-ethnic differences and cross-ethnic awareness, and (3) to assess the impact of an adolescents' ethnicity on their personal identity, social adjustment and cross-ethnic relationships. The project will be conducted in two phases. First, adult ratings of situations common to adolescents' everyday life will be used to construct qualitative and quantitative indices of ethnic group differences among Hispanic-, Black-, and White-Americans. Second, these situations will be videotaped using adolescents from three ethnic groups to produce a new measure, APES: Adolescent Patterns of Ethnic Socialization. The acquisition of the norms reflected in the adult's ratings of social encounters will be assessed for Black-, White-, and Hispanic-American adolescents from early to late adolescence. Their responses to the APES tapes (what they would do and what they think a cross-ethnic peer would do in the social situations) will be scored to analyze developmental differences in the acquisition of one's ethnic profile and to yield precise individual measures of monocultural and diffuse ethnic identity and cross-ethnic awareness. Two groups will be identified: those adolescents with a monocultural identity and those with a diffuse identity. These adolescents will be studied longitudinally over three years. They will be given measures assessing development of their personal identity, social adjustment, and cross-ethnic acceptance. The results will be analyzed to examine (1) overall ethnic group differences in patterns of social behavior and developmental changes in ethnic identity and cross-ethnic awareness, (2) the impact of acquiring a monocultural versus a diffuse ethnic identity on an adolescent's ethnic acceptance and social adjustment, and (3) the impact of ethnic group differences on intergroup acceptance and relationships.
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